Deadly Sins Rampant: Realm of Sloth
by Ten-Faced
Summary: Volume One. The entire world is asleep. The gods have fallen silent. The demigods are on their own in this now-quiet world... or are they? When one deity called Sloth demands that Percy and his friends to come and rescue her from an imposter's traps, every little secret that's been hidden since Pandora's legendary curiosity will come into the light. Can they handle it?
1. Sleeping World

"A game, sir?"

Boreas, Ruler of the North Wind, paused on the way to his residence. This was an uncommon sight, a grubby child dressed in ragged clothes and a cheeky smile with a portable table and battered, old playing cards, a dark alley at his back. Familiar from when Olympus was in England, but now? In Quebec, _Canada_? Boreas wasn't an expert about the land below this colder country, and therefore couldn't speak for America, but he was pretty certain that using children to earn money in First World countries happened far less than before.

Boreas looked closer at the child, and realized that the young mortal was a boy. For some reason, the wind god felt a wave of nostalgia seeing the kid who was hoping to make money with old fashioned ways. Nostalgia, and something else, as if a soft, compelling voice laced with drowsiness was whispering for him to play. But that couldn't be, because he couldn't sense anything or anyone except mortals, and they did not possess the kind of influence needed to sway a god over. Boreas decided that it was just one part of his divine essence wanting to gamble, for old time's sake. "Why not," he muttered, and removed a ten dollar bill from his coat pocket, manifested there instantly with magic.

The young boy took it with a whispered thanks. "Watch the cards, sir, watch the cards!" those small fingers flew, exchanging the cards with amazing speed. For someone who couldn't have been more than twelve years of age, this boy was remarkably experienced. "Choose one, sir?"

Boreas pointed to the one in the middle. Beaming, the little dealer flipped it around, revealing the Queen of Spades. "Ah, the Black Queen!" he crowed, and placed it back, head first onto the crowded table top. "Think you can find her again, sir?"

The god didn't answer, only watched silently as the boy mixed and shuffled with remarkable ease. "Choose your lady, sir!"

For a god, even a minor one who wasn't appreciated nearly enough, this was all too easy. His finger tapped the one on the very left, and the boy turned the piece of paper around, revealing it to be, indeed, the Queen of Spades.

"Shucks!" the boy – Grubby, Boreas would call him, for that definitely was what this mortal was – snapped his fingers in shame. "Well, here's your money, sir!" he began to return the god of his ten dollars plus another rumpled bill next to the crisp, clean one of the same value. The Ruler of the North Wind kept the look of disgust off his face, instead freezing it over with impassiveness.

"Keep it," Boreas was bored already. His inability of staying in one place concentrated mostly came from the fact that he was the God of the North Wind. His personality was cold, and once gone, would not come back. No one could tie up and keep the winds in one place forever.

"Thank you, kind sir!" Grubby smiled, showing a few gaps in the uneven rows of yellow brick-like teeth. Boreas nodded, and left, disappearing into a hail-ridden breeze as he walked away from mortal sight. He didn't quite feel like spreading his purple wings, for some reason, suddenly struck with what felt to him like fatigue.

The 'boy' smiled, and pocketed the card touched by the god. "Thank you very much," 'he' muttered, and gathering the rest of 'his' items, 'he' stuffed it into a sack and slunk back into the shadowy alley behind 'him', the large sack slung over 'his' shoulder.

Inside the dirty pocket, the card began to glow with an eerie light.

"No, no," the carrier murmured, voice changing from a young boy's to that of something deeper and smoother, a velvety quality to the polished voice. "Not quite yet. Wait just a bit more, my dear."

The carrier made 'his' way around the alley, eventually coming to a larger – but just as dark – street. As 'he' stepped into a brighter part of the way for a moment, it could be seen that in the dark walk, 'he' had changed dramatically, now much taller than before and covered with a robe that covered 'him' fully.

'He' continued to walk until he was swallowed by the darkness again. Once without light shining on 'him', the carrier removed the card and carefully inspected the lightened-up piece of stiff paper, as if that short walk would have - or could have - damaged the precious thing. "Alright," 'he' murmured, and, with something that looked like a sleight of the hand, the card twisted on itself and disappeared into nothing, the first of the offerings.

Somewhere near the Empire States Building, far below in the United States of America, a dark figure solidified in the shadows. The female patted herself, then raised her head, taking a moment to admire the noise and movements of this large city, and tilted it slightly, regretful for a moment that the price for her new body was the end of this unique artwork with sound, light and life. Sighing, she lowered her head, not wanting to waste the energy and effort in keeping her head up, and began her work, exactly as she had been instructed.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Annabeth Chase was not in a good mood. It was the beginning of summer, and by all rights her father should have been taking her to Camp Half-Blood, where she'd be able to spend more time with her boyfriend Percy _without_ attracting about a dozen monsters per minute. Instead, her dad was asleep. On the couch, with his glasses askew.

"Dad? Da-ad?" The blond Californian girl frowned. This was odd. Her father was a light sleeper, and was supposed to be working on his model on the formations of troops on yet another war or something. Both those facts in one combination equaled a father who would live off coffee and no sleep for a week at the very minimum, and the week wasn't over yet, with four more days of insomnic working left for him.

After poking her father several times, shaking him and even putting her cold hands on his neck – a trick that had worked many times – she gave up trying to wake up Sleeping Daddy, and scrawled a note explaining that she was on her way to camp.

"Alright, dad, see you!" Annabeth said this particularly loudly, in case this was all some kind of prank. She doubted it, but living in an enclosed area very close to the mischievous Hermes Cabin had…. _Enlightened_ her.

She got a snore in return. No, he was very asleep. Rolling her eyes, she closed the door behind her and walked to the street, rummaging in her bag for her cell phone. Once her left hand closed around the piece of technology, she grabbed her dagger with the other hand and dialed in a number, smiling when the person at the other end of the metaphorical line picked up with a cheerful hello. "Mrs. Jackson? Hi, it's Annabeth. Sorry for bothering you, but is Percy there? No? Oh, well, if you can, could you tell him that I might be a little late on the way to camp? Thank you!"

Annabeth hung up, and shoved her phone back into her bag, hoping to reduce the amount of monsters now tracking her down because of the signal flare. The current silence around her should have ensured….

Silence?

For the first time since leaving her house, Annabeth looked, _really_ looked around her surroundings. Everything was, like the movies, silent and still. _Too_ silent. _Too_ still.

For an average person, that was very strange. For a demigod, their senses screamed danger, and Annabeth was no exception to this. The last times such a thing had happened was at the Battle of Manhattan, and Annabeth was pretty sure that wasn't a good experience for anyone, both mortal and partly (or fully) divine.

"What-?" she noticed a woman lying down on a bench at the side of the street near the park. Annabeth jogged up to her, only to find her asleep. "Miss? Um, hello?" she shook her, much harder than she had done for her dad.

Nothing. The lady gave a little snore, but that was it.

Gray eyes wide with growing dread at the unnaturalness of it all, she dashed back into her house, almost forgetting to lock the door, and ran to her father. "Dad?" she called frantically, shaking and slapping him. "Dad! Wake up! Dad!"

His head lolled around helplessly, and he stayed asleep.

Now she was freaked out. She grabbed her prism from her pocket, and yanked the curtains open to let the rays of sunlight hit the little piece of triangular glass. A small, faint rainbow was cast around her, and she tossed a coin into the coloured lights, murmuring the prayer and asking to see Chiron.

The _drachma_ fell through and clinked on the ground.

Annabeth would not panic. She absolutely refused to do so. It was a stupid, pointless, time-wasting thing to do, and no decent child of Athena would be caught dead panicking like an Aphrodite child who had just found their outfit to be clashing. She took a deep breath, and repeated the prayer, louder and more clearly, and carefully dropped the coin right over the middle of the small ray of refracting light, visible colour shining on dust motes dancing in the air.

The _drachma _fell through the lights again and just clattered around on the ground, a disk of metal waving around and taunting her, not helping her attempts to calm down at all.

Grabbing her bag, Annabeth nearly shredded through the tough fabric until her fingers found her phone again. With her hands shaking so badly that she nearly dropped it several times, Annabeth scrolled down her list of contacts until she saw the one she had just dialed.

"Please pick up," she begged the little plastic device as if it was one of the Olympians. But the god of phones must have been not on her side, because only the dial tone could be heard before it moved onto the chirping, pre-recorded voice of Sally Jackson, apologizing for being unable to pick up and asking to leave a message.

Annabeth threw it down onto the ground, frustrated. "What the Hades is going on here?" she all but shrieked, every last bit of patience used up at this weird farce-like situation.

Nothing but silence answered her.

Gritting her teeth, Annabeth took several deep breaths, doing what was similar to an informal style of yoga until her heartbeat steadied. She grabbed her knife and her bag, stuffing the prism and _drachma_ into the latter and _calmly_ walked to the kitchen to grab a few edible things before proceeding to _calmly _walk out of the house for what she _calmly _hoped was the last time that day. She was a child of Athena, and this was a mystery, begging to be solved.

She, Annabeth Chase, would solve this.

* * *

**A/N**- Alright, if you managed to read to here, congrats! Now, about this fic... it, if I do not ditch it in the middle (which I will do my very best not to do) is the first in a series of seven fics. I know, ambitious, especially because I'm not known around here. But still, I'm doing it.

Anyways, this disregards the Heroes of Olympus, taking place some times after the Last Olympian, but it will have characters from the HoO Series, because I refuse to give up the Romans, the Amazons, and the new demigods. They're too awesome, and Tyson finally has a love interest. I'm not giving up a reading harpy. Instead, they'll be added in... and maybe the Egyptians too, in the far future. Who knows?

Pairings... right, I'll **try** to not go overboard with them... key word;_ try_. I'm a hopeless romantic, so... But you can _definitely_ expect Percabeth, and maaaaaybe other hints.

Review if you don't want Nico to die. No, really, he might.


	2. No Connection

We _all_ know that I don't own PJO. Only the mystery figure at the end.

* * *

Percy Jackson was many things. One of the things that he was famous for was that he was a powerful magnet for monsters, gods that grew easily angry and offended at him, and powerful deities in general who mostly ended up wanting him dying painfully. In other words, he attracted danger and bad luck like there was no tomorrow. It was as if someone had jinxed him permanently. By now, he was almost _used_ to ripping our Riptide from his pockets and taking down the nearest monster without so much as a glance spared, or being attacked and having said attack bouncing off his impenetrable skin. It was all routine by now.

What he wasn't used, and probably never would get used to, was being ripped off by the goddess of Rainbows.

C'mon! The goddess of _rainbows_. _Not_ someone who you imagine to be a rip-off.

How had he gotten ripped off? Percy had been IM-ing his mother, who wanted to see him safely at camp. As a good son, he obliged, using the only method of communication he could at the moment without attracting hoards of monsters.

"Hey mom," he waved to the smiling woman in the Iris message, who waved back. Paul Blowfis, his stepfather, could be seen further back, sending his own words of greetings. "Right, I'm at Camp now," Percy moved to let her see the dragon and the Golden Fleece on Thalia's Tree, as well as further back where the small figure of cabins were barely visible. "And I'm safe. No monsters or evil Titan Lords, or anything like that. Just little invincible me."

"Don't jinx yourself," scolded Sally Jackson, but she was smiling at the rare luck that her son was not being targeted by yet _another_ monster who wanted to eat him. "And the Curse of Achilles does not automatically grant you-" The IM cut off abruptly without any warning, the rainbow screen dissolving into a normal rainbow. Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon and Hero of Olympus, frowned at this.

"I had at least three minutes left!" he complained aloud, hoping that the goddess of Rainbows would be able to hear his complain and try to do better for a dedicated customer. Shifting the spray of water he was controlling, he made sure a rainbow was visible before digging out another _drachma_ and muttering the prayer. "Oh, Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Sally Jackson!"

The golden _drachma_ fell through the misty colours and clattered around on the concrete. Frowning, Percy picked it up, and tried again, only to receive the same results.

"Of all the times…" he muttered, and bent over to pick up the golden disk again. "Alright, Lady Iris, please show me Annabeth Chase."

The coin or the goddess of the rainbow had something against him, because it didn't quite do the thing it was supposed to do, where it went magically through the refracting lights and connect him to the person he wanted to speak to. Instead, the currency did what was completely normal, which was passing through the rainbow and falling to the grip of gravity.

Muttering words that Chiron and his mother would have said several things on, Percy picked up the blasted _drachma_ (which he made a mental note to use as soon as possible) and stuffed it into his pocket next to Riptide. He let go of the thin veil of water, and it fell to the ground where it would evaporate under the hot summer sun blazing in the sky. Their former controller walked away, heading to the camp where he saw two familiar siblings.

"Hey!" Percy called, waving at the sons of Hermes. "Travis! Connor! What's up?"

The notorious camp pranksters sidled up to him, and instinctively Percy grabbed his bags tightly. "Oh, hey Percy," they chorused. "Where's Annabeth?"

He shrugged, a little bothered by this. "I don't know. Hey, you two know what's up right now? Because the Iris Messages aren't working," Percy proceeded to describe what had happened outside of Camp borders.

Travis and Connor exchanged looks with each other. Normally, that would have made Percy Jackson very suspicious, but the glances they gave each other were something of bewilderment, seeking an answer from someone else. For once, they were innocent. He doubted they would have been able to pull something this big off anyways.

"Don't know," shrugged Travis. "Maybe you should ask Chiron."

"Yeah," added Connor. "Tell him that IMs are malfunctioning."

Percy nodded and waved again, and then strode off to the Big House, searching for the ancient centaur who had taught many great heroes.

If only the malfunctioning Iris Messages where the least of his problems….

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Olympus had been a beautiful place for centuries. Only in recent times, during the amazing fight which would be dubbed as 'The Battle of Manhattan' had it been badly disfigured, but Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena and Architect of Olympus had absolutely outdone herself, building something that would stand for many millenniums to come on the divine mountain where Greek deities rested and counselled.

At least, if it hadn't been attacked again, the magnificent designs and buildings, fantastic sculptures and the newly built shrines would have been fine. Instead, there was a lot of rubble piled on each other, and the mountain was hardly what you would call 'elegant' in its current state. Incredibly, an unknown party had snuck into Olympus, struck silently and left, destroying many new and old structures alike without leaving so much as a trace or a hint of who had done this.

In the great room filled with thrones, the Olympians sat in council for several hours now, Hades and Hestia in as well, watching the flames of the hearth show images of the entire world, where not a single mortal creature was stirring with consciousness. Every last one of them was asleep. The only things that walked the earth were their children, the magical creatures and monsters.

"Sir!" One of the minor gods flew in, a human-sized godling who stood to attention as all fourteen powerful deities turned to face him. "Both Lords Morpheus and Hypnos has been accounted for! Neither is responsible for the current situation, sir!"

Zeus, king of the Heavens and Ruler of the Skies, nodded and waved a large hand, dismissing the unimportant god. "So," he boomed out, catching all of his family's attention. "It seems we are at a dead end, once again. Our prime suspects are innocent for now."

One of the male gods, a man with black hair and sea green eyes touched the trident at his side. "To be fair, brother, I did say they would not have had the powers for such a thing."

"Then who, Poseidon?" At Zeus' side, his queen Hera resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Just what did her husband think they'd been having this meeting for?

The lord of the Oceans echoed her thoughts. "That is the purpose of this meeting, brother. To find the culprits for putting the world to sleep and for vandalizing Olympus."

Hestia stirred the flames, letting the merry crackle continue in the silence. The last thing anyone needed was the sky and sea to fight while all mortals were asleep. "Peace, brothers," she called aloud.

"Peace," mused Apollo. "A lot of poems are written on that subject. Other than love, or war, or just depressing things in general."

No one answered the god of archery and poetry. Frankly, most were scared that he would give them another recital of one of his original works.

"Artemis," Athena suddenly spoke, and all knew an idea had hit her. "What about your Hunters? Are they awake?"

The flames began to change colour again, and shimmered into an image of silver-garbed girls who were wandering around in the wilderness, bows loaded and ready to fire.

"They are not exactly what you would call 'mortal', Athena," Artemis remarked, her voice dry. "Although, the ones that were _formerly_ mortal seem rather tired."

It was true. A few girls were yawning, and had their eyes half-closed, occasionally bumping into their sisters-at-arms. Still, anyone could tell that these girls were alert and ready for any kind of challenge.

One girl in particular seemed more energetic than the rest. The image zoomed in on her, a girl around the age of sixteen with spiky black hair and a silver tiara on her brows with electric blue eyes sharp and focused.

_"It's safe. Alright, we'll set camp,"_ she ordered, and the girls began to set up tents and fires, a process that took less than two minutes.

The image dissolved with the lead girl looking to the skies with worry on her pale face.

"I still say that it's not _her_," Demeter spoke, unnecessarily starting a debate that had been carrying on for some time. The other gods either tensed or groaned outright. When Ares had mentioned the possibilities of the Earth stirring, the goddess of agriculture had shot that idea down immediately, claiming that she would know if the Earth was waking. She had also added a few snarky comments on how many brain cells the hot-headed man had left, which had resulted in a near fight only calmed at mention of the current issue at hand.

Ares, as expected, began to redden. "Oh yeah?" he began. "What about the Great Prophecy! Those kids are going to the _Doors of Death_! Doors. Of. _Death_. Just ask Corpse Breath on what _that_ could mean!" Said 'Corpse Breath' frowned, but stayed silent. "And what other threat is there, other than the Earth? _Demigods_?"

"Are you implying that I do not understand my domain?" Demeter's voice rose in pitch, shrilling at the end. Hades moved just a little back instinctively, recognizing the beginnings of her nagging lectures.

Luckily, it never started. "Enough!" Zeus finally stepped in, stopping the argument before it grew. "Ares, your point on the waking of Gaea will be considered, but do not insult Demeter. The thought of demigods, however…" Poseidon raised an eyebrow, knowing just whose son the proud god of the sky was thinking of. "Until the guilty party is caught, the gods will stand by, and not interfere in any way," he declared. "Olympus will be closed off for now."

A few protests began at this. "So we'll just leave our kids to fend for themselves?"

"Oh, _brilliant_ plan you have _there_."

"I think it's a good idea," all voices ceased and stared in disbelief to Dionysus, who raised an eyebrow at their reaction. "What? Those brats can take care of themselves, and as for our neighbors in Brooklyn, who cares?"

The last part calmed down most, hearing the old grumpy wine god. Still, the idea that their children would be alone wasn't something most liked.

Zeus didn't let them protest on this. "Council adjourned!" Thunder boomed after his words dramatically. The gods stood from their thrones, and shrunk to human-proportions as they walked out of the room.

Somehow, it was as if everyone had gotten caught up in their own prides to care about the sleeping world. A small figure hiding behind one of the thrones silenced a laugh, and then disappeared without a sound.

* * *

No one reviewed, so I assume that they want Nico dead. Alright, I can do that.

Thank you to Empty Thoughts, who gave me the right personalities and reactions for the gods.


	3. A Little Break

Own nothing except the idea for this AU and the girl at the end. And the idea about Hyperborea being in British Columbia. I mean no offence to fellow Canadians, or our American neighbors with this chapter.

* * *

The Hunter Phoebe threw her hands up in the air, disgusted. "Canadians!" she snarled, still fuming about their latest encounters with a certain people of a certain place up north. To Thalia, Lieutenant to Lady Artemis, it seemed that the skilled healer of the Hunt was frustrated at their latest clash with the residents of Hyperborea. Again. Before, it was because of that snowball fight up in Alberta, when Phoebe had been frozen into an ice cube for half the day, and today, it was most likely because they had forbidden the Hunters from entering and taking some of the healing flowers grown there.

"Funny," remarked another one of her sisters. Thalia watched as the girl tilted her head back and smirked, just a bit. "I once heard a Canadian say '_Americans_!' in the _exact_ same way."

Phoebe rolled her eyes and huffed while the rest of the girls sniggered. Thalia cracked a smile, happy that the girls were actually relaxing instead of tensing up. More so now because the Hunters had spent the past day running around most of Canada and half of the United States, only to find everyone asleep, with the exceptions of monsters and some satyrs escorting unclaimed demigods back to camp. They had actually recruited one girl after they had saved her from being eaten by a Cyclops. Thalia was thankful for the addition. Their numbers had grown, but after the Battle of Manhattan (where she had broken her legs) the Hunters had been a little stretched out.

Of course, with the news she was about to drop on them, it was a good thing that they were in a cheerful mood at the moment. "Speaking of America," she began, and the rest of the Hunters snapped to attention. "We're going to the place with the single most concentrated amount of demigods in the United States. Anyone guessed where?"

A collective groan – and in the case of the wolves and falcons, a whine and a shrill respectively – rose from the rest of her companions. "Do we have to?"

"Yes," Thalia said firmly. "You know that Lady Artemis would want us to look into this! We should check the camp, and see how everyone else is doing."

Her sisters didn't look convinced. Thalia decided to use her last card. "Of course, we need to beat the campers in Capture the Flag again. Unless you feel that we won't be able to. I hear Percy got to be a much better fighter after the dip in the Styx," she paused, letting that sink in. "I can't blame you if you're scared. He _did_ take Kronos down nearly single-handedly…."

It was a dirty way of fighting, and Thalia knew it. Still, it did wonders. About half of the Hunters were snarling, and the other ones looked ready to kill.

"We going?" she smirked inwardly, knowing who had just won.

"Yes!" all voices united, they shouted back and leapt to their feet, already beginning to pack up camp.

For a moment, the daughter of Zeus frowned, suddenly doubting herself and the victory. Why had she wanted to go to camp again? When she knew everyone seemed to hate the deal?

Her subconscious answered back, a soft, sleepy voice so pleasant to listen to, like a relaxing nap, promising that this was the best thing to do. The gentle voice compelled her to go along with this.

No voice that heartening could be bad, right?

**~\-Sloth-/~**

All it took for Percy was the words "Annabeth called…" for him to nearly smash her brother Malcolm against the wall.

"Dude!" the son of Athena winced in pain. "Unlike you, I don't have the Curse of Achilles! Fragile, here!"

Percy winced, though he did so for a different reason; shame. "Sorry, Malcolm," he apologized, letting him down gently.

"Nah, it's cool," he waved it away, and handed his cell phone to Percy. "You should call her, man."

Percy snatched the piece of technology away and dialed in the number as fast as his fingers could manage, and then all but glued it to the side of his face. The dial tone rang once, twice, thrice….

"_Hello_?" the voice on the other end was familiar to Percy. He nearly sagged in relief. "_Malcolm_?"

"It's Percy, Wise Girl," he answered back, his voice a near croak from relief. "You're okay, right?"

_"Of course I'm okay!"_ she sounded indignant, but Percy could feel the same radiating relief at the sound of his voice, signifying his relative safety. _"What, you think I'd be in trouble?"_

"No, no," he hurriedly tried to make up for that slip. "Just…. I was worried. There's something weird going on."

Annabeth snorted. _"Understatement of your life, Seaweed Brain, and that's saying something. Listen, I'm near my house. I need you to pick me up. Preferably on a winged horse. And if I don't hang up soon, I'll be mobbed by monsters."_

"Right," Percy began to make his way to the stables, barely noticing Malcolm protesting at the unintended theft of his cell phone. "I love you."

_"Love you too. Don't get killed, and don't fall asleep like everyone else."_

Percy did a double take. "Asleep?" he repeated.

There was a sigh on the other end. _"Yes, Seaweed Brain, asleep," _Annabeth said in false patience. _"Somehow, all mortals are asleep, and Iris Messages aren't working."_

"I knew that the IMs weren't… You sure they're asleep?"

_"Percy…."_

"Right, sorry," he apologized, opening the door to the stables and waving distractedly at the excited horses. "How about we talk later?"

_"For once, you're using that head of yours. I'll be at the park near my house," _there was a pause. _"Try to hurry."_

"Will do!" he closed the phone, and walked up to Blackjack. "Ready to fly?"

_What, no, 'hi, Blackjack, how were you, Blackjack?_' His Pegasus complained. _And just _where_ are my sugar cubes?_

Percy playfully slapped the side of his black neck. "I'll give you sugar cubes later," he promised. "But I need a fast steed for a damsel in distress."

_Boss, if Annabeth hears you calling her that, she'll slice you up, Curse of Achilles or not._

Percy agreed with his wise horse, but beckoned for Guido to come with them. "Well, she needs a ride, so she'll have to bear with me, won't she?"

_Whatever you say, boss._ Blackjack stretched his magnificent wings, and shook out his mane. _Still, if you don't make it, I want your cabin._

Percy didn't get the chance to say anything to that, because a mocking voice of a certain child of Athena – that for _once_ did not belong to his girlfriend – came from behind him. "_Yes_, Percy, you may borrow _my_ phone so you can keep in contact with my sister, and it's _very_ nice of you to ask my _permission_ _before_ you took it."

He winced, and turned to face a sarcastic Malcolm. "You don't mind, do you?" he asked nervously.

The gray eyes, so familiar to him in their brilliant, stormy shade, softened, just slightly. "No," he admitted. And then those storm-gray eyes turned extra stormy on him. "But if you get so much as a scratch on that, I swear, Percy-"

"I got it, I got it," Percy mumbled, and leapt on Blackjack's back.

Malcolm kept the glare up. "Try to not destroy anything or anyone important!"

Blackjack tossed his head dramatically, and with a powerful flap of his wings, jumped into the air, followed by Guido. _Hah_! The horse snorted. _That's like telling a demigod not to smell! No offense, boss._

"None taken."

Percy wasn't supposed to fly, technically, being a son of Poseidon who wasn't too liked by Zeus, but on a Pegasus, he was on what was considered 'neutral' territory. That came in handy, because most of the time, the traffic could be horrible.

Besides, flying by Blackjack was his fastest method. He was an awesome horse, who deserved a medal.

_Thanks, boss._

Percy blinked. "Did I say that aloud?"

_Yup._

"Oh," he felt slightly stupid now. Still, maybe he could ask Tyson for a medal of some sorts. He liked horses, and was really good with making things.

_How about extra sugar cubes?_

"You'll get fat, Blackjack."

He snorted. _A good looking stallion like me? Boss, that's a little thing called 'impossible'. Hang on, now, we're going to step on it._

Percy grabbed the black mane on the horse's neck, and shut his eyes as the scenery began to blur, the horse moving through a sort of magic that transported them across the country quicker than a jet. He had asked about it once, and all Percy had gotten was 'it's similar to the party ponies'.

Which had been more than enough to make him drop the subject.

_We're here, you can open your eyes now_. Blackjack told him gently as he felt the horse slow down and descend.

"I feel slightly airsick," admitted Percy.

_Do _not_ throw up on me, boss_. Blackjack warned as he landed in a graceful trot, Guido right behind him.

Percy took a deep breath, and swung his legs to the side, sliding off the sleek Pegasus. "Thanks, Blackjack."

_No prob. Pick up Annabeth and we're good to go._

Sliding his hands into his jean pocket, Percy ignored Riptide and the stupid drachma, removed the borrowed phone and dialed in a number. "Annabeth?" he asked as he looked around the park. Looked like his girlfriend was right about people being asleep. Eerily, this situation mirrored the first invasion in the recent Battle of Manhattan, when Morpheus had put the city to sleep. Only this time, if Annabeth was right, it seemed that it was most of America under the spell.

_"Percy?"_ He smiled at her voice. As long as he had Annabeth, he was okay.

"Yeah, it's me. Where are you?"

_"At the park entrance. How about you?"_

"Around…" he looked at Blackjack, who was listening in with an innocent expression.

_The entrance._

"Apparently, I'm near you."

_"Yeah, I can see you right now. Look up, and turn slowly to your left."_

Percy did so, but saw a tree.

There was a sigh at his ears. _"The other left, Seaweed Brain,"_ her voice spoke both on the phone and near him, in person.

He turned with a wide smile…. To see nothing at all.

He stood, dumbfounded as his eyes jumped around, trying to find the familiar strands of golden hair. And then he remembered what her magic item was. "Stupid invisibility hat!"

A laughing Annabeth removed her baseball hat and grinned at him. "You should have seen your face!"

"Very mature, Annabeth," he remarked, tone as dry as he could make it.

She rolled her eyes, and then threw her arms around his neck. "I missed you, Seaweed Brain," she mumbled into his chest.

"I missed you too. You know, I thought we'd be having this conversation at camp."

Annabeth lifted her head and glared at him in a mockery of anger. "That's seriously all you can think?"

"Well, it's true!"

She punched his arm, and then winced slightly while he stood, unfazed. "Kelp Head."

"Wise Girl," he replied, though the nickname was more of a compliment than an insult. "How about we go back to camp and tell Chiron about this all?"

Annabeth took his hands. "As long as you don't do something stupider than usual, I'm good with that."

Percy raised an eyebrow, and began to help her mount Guido. "Stupider than usual?"

"You have to admit, some of your ideas are pretty stupid."

_That's true, boss._

Percy shot a look at Blackjack, who shrugged. Or, did something the equivalent of a shrug for a Pegasus, which happened to be lifting his large wings up and then dropping them.

Rolling his eyes, he turned back to Annabeth, who was staring behind him in a distracted way. Percy looked over his shoulders, but saw nothing except trees, a path, and sleeping people. "What's wrong?"

She frowned, but looked back to him. "Nothing. I thought I saw something, but it was just my imagination."

To Percy, it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself. Still, he figured that if Annabeth had seen something for real, she would have held whatever it was at knifepoint by now.

"Alright, let's get back to camp. For real this time."

His girlfriend's face cleared of any confusion, and focused. "Right."

Percy climbed onto Blackjack, and gave the signal for both pegasi to take off.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Unfortunately, Annabeth had not imagined seeing something. She had actually seen a black-garbed girl moving into the bushes after settling a few sleeping people in a more comfortable position. Now, she stayed behind in the shadows, watching as the pair of pegasi flew away with the demigods on their back.

A hazy brown eye was momentarily visible from behind tangles of black hair as she tilted her head. "I found you," she whispered ominously, and even if she said it quietly, her voice still carried on the wind to the flying couple, who suddenly felt as if cold hands were caressing their faces maliciously.

Reaching into her black linen robe, the girl pulled out a playing card given to her, and drew on the power of the God of the North Wind ensnared into the simple piece of paper, dissolving in the sudden wind before racing towards Long Island, fast as a wind spirit, but much, _much_ more deadly, even in the weakened form.

* * *

About Hyperborea... according to a website I saw, it stated that the land is something of eternal spring, placed far north after the lands where Boreas ruled. I put that location in BC.


	4. Stormy Horizon

Nothing. Say it with me; NOTHING. Unless you're RR. In which case...

* * *

Annabeth glanced away from the other head counsellors as Chiron rolled into the room, his bottom half folded magically into the wheelchair. The room quietened at his presence. "Is everyone here?"

A murmur arose, signalling that all head counsellors were present.

"Good. Now, Annabeth and many satyrs have brought to my attention something strange," he sighed, rubbing his head. "All mortals in America have been confirmed to be asleep."

"I," the son of Hypnos raised his hand, but quickly lowered it to cover his yawn. "I don't think this is my father's doing. He," Clovis yawned again. "Even he doesn't have the power to pull something like this, and Morpheus can't, either," his thoughts said, Clovis lowered his head and fell asleep again.

Chiron nodded, and faced the rest of the heads. "Anyone else?"

The daughter of Ares picked under her fingernails with one of her many blades, and gave her opinion. "I say we dump the lot of them in cold water."

Katie Gardner smiled slightly. "Clarisse, it's impossible to dump all of America in cold water."

"I don't know…." Travis Stoll pondered, his brother Connor right beside him as they rubbed their chins in an identical way of thought. "It might make the ultimate prank…"

Chiron shot them one of his please-be-a-responsible-demigod-for-once look, and then put down a bunch of reports written on various materials. "The 'Sleep Problem', as labelled by one of our satyrs, seems to be all over the world, not just America. Only demigods, monsters, and Rachel seem unaffected."

"What about the gods?" Annabeth asked, leaning into Percy. "What do they have to say about this?"

Chiron coughed, and shifted on his wheelchair. "They've actually cut contact, you see. The only contact they're making is claiming their children."

Above her head, Annabeth heard Percy mutter something. "At least they're keeping their promise," he grumbled, too low for anyone else but her to hear.

One of the new head counsellors of the minor gods raised her hands. "So what do we do?"

"Excellent point, Lou Ellen," Chiron nodded. "We must go out and bring back all of the demigods before the monsters find them. Tracking down unclaimed demigods is easier, for both us and monsters at the moment.

"Once brought back, they need to be trained as fast as possible. I'm afraid," he paused, and coughed. "I'm afraid that something bad is stirring, and I don't like it. And if we're not prepared, then I'm afraid it won't be enough for us to survive on our own."

"Is it the Second Great Prophecy?" surprised heads turned to face the head of Cabin Ten, who sneered lightly back. "Oh come on! This is big, and the Great Prophecy is big. Do the math."

"No," For once, Chiron gave a direct answer in reply to prophecy-related matters. "You are correct, Drew, in the assumption that this isn't just a plot to promote pillows or such, but it is not the Great Prophecy."

Annabeth raised her head, staring at her father-figure curiously. He wasn't lying, but there was definitely something the old centaur was hiding from them. From _her_.

It was like he heard her thoughts. The look he sent her was filled with apologetic pain, at being unable to tell her just what she wanted to know. The message was clear; _I'm sorry, my dear, but no more information._

"So that's all we can do? Get as many kids as possible, and train them?" Clarisse didn't seem to like that plan.

"Yes," Chiron admitted. "It won't be such a hard job. Currently, the demigods that are unclaimed left outside of camp are few; only twenty four. The satyrs are bringing them back as fast as possible, but the monsters can track them easily.

"In pairs, you'll have to go out and assist retrieval. Yes, you may choose your partners. _No_, you may not take things on the way," this was directed at the Stolls, who at least had the decency to look somewhat embarrassed.

Annabeth would have bet her dagger that they would steal something in the first hour.

Drew raised one perfectly manicured hand. "Do we have to go?" she asked in a way that would have been whining on anyone else. On her, it just seemed that she was registering a complaint on a slight inconvenience.

"No," Chiron sighed, looking slightly old. Annabeth did not like the words 'old' and 'Chiron' used in the same sentence to describe him. At all. "Some of you will have to stay behind, give this camp a semblance of order, guard the borders and such. Only those who volunteer will go. And," he raised his voice. "You will be able to volunteer _later_. Not now. Meeting dismissed!"

Percy shot a look at Annabeth, and at the strangest time, her breath caught as those sea-green eyes twinkled at her. "Partners?"

And more. Much, much more. But he knew it already. "Duh," she replied, squeezing his hand lightly.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Piper was fairly sure this was all seriously messed up.

At first, she thought that all she had done was wake up earlier than usual. Nothing serious, no harms done. She'd been doing that an awful lot lately, with that strange dream occurring over and over again.

For some reason, she couldn't go back to sleep. Groaning at her tired body and mind in insomnia, Piper yanked herself out of bed, throwing her legs off the small, uncomfortable bed that would have been better named 'cot'.

Walking into the washroom, she splashed some cold water on her face to rub the sleep out, pulled a comb through her choppy brown hair, and changed into her usual clothes. Still normal.

That done, she left her dorm to try and pick up something to eat. Now that was where she started to feel uneasy. No one was outside in the halls or corridors, sneaking moments with their boyfriends or doing something illegal, which was weird at the Wilderness School, where silence was a mere fantasy, and 'legal' meant no murder.

The first red flag popped up in Piper's mind when she walked up into the cafeteria –the feeding hole, as she and her friend Leo called it – and found twenty people or so, sprawled around in various places, all asleep.

"Hello?" gingerly, she walked up to the lady at the counter behind the serving line, who was holding a spatula in a limp hand. Piper poked her netted head, hoping for a response. She didn't stir.

Carefully, Piper put a hand near her neck, feeling around for a pulse. It was what her dad did all the time in the movies, and he made it look easy. Turns out, in real life, the pulse is harder to find. After some awkward attempts to turn the lady's head, she felt a faint thumping near the area where her jawbone made a sharp curve up. Either that was the pulse, or there was something wrong with this lady.

Just in case, Piper grabbed a metal spoon and put it under her nose. If there was a mirror, it might have worked better, but she didn't carry any around. The slightly scratched-up metal fogged up, cleared, and fogged up again.

"Piper?" at the sudden voice calling her name, she spun around, holding up the spoon (a stupid weapon to die fighting with, she realized) and saw Leo.

"Oh, gods, you scared me!" she exclaimed, and threw the cutlery down on the ground, where it clattered loudly against the eerie silence that seemed to threaten her.

He held up a hand. "Hey, easy, alright? And 'gods'? You make it sound like there's a bunch up there, messing with us."

Resisting the urge to hit him, Piper settled for a lecture. Strangely, she felt that she needed to defend her plural use of the word. "You never know. The Greeks believed that there were a lot of gods, and other cultures each worshipped a bunch of different deities. For all we know-"

"Yeah, I know," he interrupted, fingers flying around a piece of pipe cleaner. "But right now, they won't exactly help us, will they?"

Piper sighed. There was no arguing with him. "Fine," she muttered. "How about we look for someone?"

Leo picked up the head of a sleeping jock. "Found Cooper!" he grinned brightly.

"I meant someone awake, Valdez."

"Oh," the Latino dropped the head, letting it smash against the metal table. Cooper didn't even stir. "I knew that."

"Sure you did," Piper turned to the kitchen. There were some toast, as well as a tray filled with bacon, and another with scrambled eggs. A pang of hunger hit her, and Piper resisted the urge to shove the meat into her mouth. "First, let's grab some food."

Leo's stomach grumbled loud enough for her to hear. "Great idea, Piper!" he snatched up a paper plate, and tossed her one of the white disks. Then, he shovelled some greasy bacon onto his plate.

Piper grimaced at the meat, and picked up a few pieces of toast. The cafeteria workers hadn't started the vegetarian meals before they had decided to take a nap, apparently.

Silently, they chewed their breakfast, each in their own thoughts about the strange occurrence. It wasn't like one of those movies or something where everyone was a zombie, or dead. To Piper, it seemed like they were all playing a game. Any minute, they would pop up, screaming "We gotcha!"

Instead, she got Coach Hedge screaming as he burst in, waving around a tree branch.

"Hi-_yah_!" he yelled as he smashed the door down.

"Ahh!" Both Piper and Leo jumped up. Out of the corner of her eyes, she thought she saw something reddish flicker in Leo's hand for a moment, but she dismissed it as a trick of the light.

"Oh," Coach sounded disappointed. "It's you two. I thought that you were monsters, eating the kids."

It could have been taken for a joke, had he not looked so serious.

"_Monsters_?" Leo spluttered out, trying to get the scrambled eggs he had spilt on himself off his coat.

"Yup!" Coach Hedge trotted over to the sleeping lady, where he shoved her off and uncovered a large serving tray of fruit salad. "Seems those and half-bloods like you're the only ones awake!" He rubbed his hands, and dipped a bowl into the fruit collection, filling it with the bright juicy pieces.

Piper flinched. Next to her, Leo looked pissed. "Hey, don't be racist, alright? You're a teacher, so act like it, god damn it!"

Coach paused while stuffing his face. "Racist?" he asked, slightly bewildered. "Oh, no, kid, you got that all wrong. I like your spunk, by the way. If only you could put that into your upper body strength, that might be nice, but I suppose-"

"Coach, what do you mean by him getting it wrong?" Piper interrupted, trying to sound as polite as possible. Of course, it was actually very rude to cut off someone while they were speaking, but she knew Coach Hedge by now.

"Ah, right," He gulped down half of the contents in the cup, chewed for about three seconds, and swallowed the entire thing. "You're demigods."

Because that was totally a better explanation.

"What," Leo's voice was flat.

Coach put a hand on his chin, scratching the goatee. "Let me make it simple. You know Greek Gods?"

"Yes," Piper answered.

"That was not supposed to be answered, McLean. Anyways, they're real. And they still go around having kids with mortals, creating what we call demigods. You are demigods. I am your protector. We will go to camp after eating."

"Brilliant explanation, genius!" Leo ranted, throwing up his arms. Piper shuffled a little to the side, to avoid being hit. "Now, tell us the real story!"

Coach frowned. "Who's your mother?" he asked, voice suddenly soft.

Leo flinched. "Esperanza Valdez," he replied, suddenly quieter. Piper knew why, and she felt bad for him.

"And you, McLean?"

Piper blushed, and looked away. "I don't know."

"Ah," the short man nodded as if he had expected it, and shoved the other toast into his mouth. "So it's the mother for you. And Valdez, who's your father?"

Leo scowled, and the fingers playing with his wires flew around faster, until all she saw was a blur. "I don't know," he spat, echoing Piper's earlier words.

"See?" Coach raised his eyebrows. "They were gods."

Leo threw down the wire thing, and slammed his hands on the table as he stood. "No!" he shouted. "Gods waving around lightning on fluffy clouds don't exist!" Outside, thunder rumbled, although Piper would have sworn that there wasn't a trace of rain anywhere.

"Careful," muttered Coach Hedge. "They don't like being belittled."

Leo crossed his arms, clearly not believing. Piper couldn't blame him. Greek Mythology was a little… far-fetched. "Prove it."

"Alright, then," Coach simply began to take off his pants.

"Whoa!" Leo shouted, covering his eyes. Piper just turned around, scrunching her eyes shut. "Keep it G-rated!"

In the darkness of her shut eyes, she heard Coach shouting. "No, see! I'm half-goat!"

"And I'm ADHD! Glad we settled that!"

Piper heard Coach sigh, and then a scuffle, where Leo was yelling out random things. (_Leo: Help! Rape! Child molesting coach!)_

And then, he gasped in surprise. "Woah! Dude, you're a donkey!"

Piper frowned, eyes still clenched shut. What?

"Goat!" snapped Coach Hedge. "McLean, you going to open your eyes or do I have to wrestle you, too?"

The image that popped into her head was not something pretty, and Piper was fairly sure it would be even uglier in reality. Gulping, she turned around and gawked.

It was like Coach Hedge had changed his pants, from runners to a pair of furry… tights. Only the legs were bent in a certain way, like a goat's.

"You're a satyr," she breathed, the myths that she and her dad had laughed at so long ago now laughing at her, taunting her.

He nodded, satisfied. "Glad you know something about your history."

A dull thud echoed through the building, and outside, the winds howled louder than anything she'd ever heard.

Cursing, Coach picked up his branch-club. "We need to get going."

"Out in that?" the windows, small as they were, did not show an ideal weather for travelling. "Can't we wait until they settle down?"

He laughed drily. "Trust me, they won't ever do so. We'll have to fight our way out."

"Whoa, whoa, wait, you want us to fight wind?"

"_Anemoi thuellai,_ actually. Storm spirits. Nasty things. We may die fighting," he grinned, and the teeth, looking like they were capable of chewing through anything, kind of scared Piper. "Isn't this great?"

Leo shot her a look of panic, and she responded with one of her own.

_Mom_, she prayed. _I don't know who you are, and I don't know if you really are a god. But if you are, please don't leave us with the goat guy._

* * *

Review.


	5. The Rook

The only thing I own is the new cover. And the idea of putting the Seven Deadly Sins like this into the PJO world.

* * *

Being the only known son of Poseidon had its perks, and its downsides. The upsides were pretty sweet things, like power over water, fish, horses and other equestrian animals.

A powerful scent that attracted monsters like there was no tomorrow? Well, he could definitely do without _that_ one.

Unfortunately, his wishes weren't too respected by the general monstrous population hungry for his godly-flesh.

A gust of really strong wind hit the sides of the flying pegasi, making them stagger a bit in their mid-air gallop. Rampaging, shapes formed out of storm clouds, taking the forms of horses with cloudy bodies and electric manes, and angel-people with a little bit of a problem in the face recognization area.

"_Anemoi thuellai!"_ Annabeth cried, and slashed with her dagger. Percy followed suit, swinging Riptide in a bronze arc of sparks and wind as the storm spirits dissipated at the touch of Celestial Bronze.

Blackjack shook his mane. _Fakers_! He snorted, sneering at the horse-shaped ones rampaging.

One of the horses reared, and charged at the Pegasus. Percy's eyes widened at the super-charged electric creature. Something told him that this horse would not treat him specially just because he was Poseidon's son. "Duck!"

_No need to yell, boss, I'm not stupid,_ Blackjack grumbled, swooping down just as the horse charged with crackling lightning wrapped around itself. Guido seemed to be doing a similar aerial dance, avoiding both humanoid and equestrian storm spirits.

The previous one that had charged him shook his head, and galloped over back, causing miniature tempests in the areas where the hooves hit the air.

_Oh, you want to fight, faker?_ Blackjack reared, about to charge him recklessly, but Percy patted him on his neck.

"Let's get down on the ground, first."

_Gotcha, boss._ Still doing the twists and turns keeping both from being electrocuted into mythical barbeque, Blackjack slowly descended, heading to the Wilderness School, doing an excellent job of avoiding the living wind.

Those wind spirits were still annoying, though, like the gnats and fruit flies on a hot day. Percy was constantly waving his bronze sword, trying to get those pesky airheads to back off, and he knew without looking that Annabeth faced the same problems.

He still glanced at her. Sweating, fierce, and determined, she really was beautiful, a warrior on her horse.

_Boss._

"Right, sorry, Blackjack."

_No problem, but can you stab Tempest over there? He's annoying me_. The black Pegasus gestured with his head at the first storm horse.

"You named him 'Tempest'?"

Blackjack snorted. _If I had my way, I'd have named him something worse. No, he told me his name, after I kept calling him… things._

"Things," Percy repeated, keeping his eyes trained on the other spirits rallying behind Tempest.

_Yeah. Anyways, he called me something racist, and then we agreed that we'd call each other by our actual names so this didn't turn into one of those television show fights, where girls claw at each other but don't actually do any damage._

"Blackjack, were you watching soap operas again?"

_Boss! _His Pegasus sounded insulted_. That hurt! You don't trust me?_

Percy was saved from breaking Blackjack's heart when Tempest charged at him, the other spirits following right behind.

"Shit."

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"Die, spirits!"

Piper watched as the satyr charged the _Anemoi thuellai_ with nothing but his wooden stick, wincing when the winds picked up abruptly and threw him back, the air crackling with miniature bolts of electricity. She swore they were laughing. They were only playing with her, Leo, and Coach Hedge.

Was he her coach? A part of Piper decided to be completely random and think this up. Should she continue to call him Coach, when he wasn't anymore? Was this really the best time to think about this?

"Piper, duck!" Leo shoved her down to the ground, making her eat dirt but letting her avoid the flying branch that would have decapitated her.

Piper spat out the grit, her tongue expelling all foreign material from her mouth. "Thanks, Valdez."

The moment of safety didn't last long. One of the storm spirit things, a shiny guy with bright teeth and dark cloudy wings, picked her up around the waist and flew. She screamed, kicking and clawing, but the wispy thing wouldn't let go.

"C'mon, sweetheart!" her captor cackled, and Piper's eyes widened. She knew that voice. "Enjoy it! Today is your lucky day! You might actually get to die seeing _me_!"

That voice, the teeth, and _definitely_ the attitude… "_Dylan_?" her voice rose at the end in pure disbelief. Piper hadn't been at this school for long, but from day one he'd been harassing her, always hitting on her and making her feel like she should be very violent towards this self-proclaimed 'God's gift to women everywhere'.

Spirit-Dylan spread his wings wider, and did a little strut in the air, thirty feet above the ground. "I'm too awesome to not be recognized, aren't I?"

Piper was pretty sure that being honest would result in her falling to the ground, a – what had Hedge called her? Oh, right, a demigod – pancake. She stayed silent, instead looking for some way for him to let her go.

"Anyways, I have to apologize," he still talked, not even noticing the rest of his brethren gathering at a point, where…

Where two flying horses were manoeuvring in the air, faint outlines of people visible from here. Piper squinted her eyes, trying to see with more clarity. It looked like the two riders were fighting the storm spirits, which must have meant they were on the same side. Sort of.

"I mean, you are pretty, but my orders were to wait until we could kill you. Our mistress told us that you were exceptionally powerful, although I kind of doubt it. But then, our mistress was gone! Poof, just like that, dragged back to the Underworld! Oh, so I was going to let you go on your merry way and be eaten by a Cyclops or something just as monsterly, but then all us wind-related folks got a new mistress! And she had very specific, special plans for _you_!" Piper felt him beam, those goddamned white teeth of his that were a menace to this world unshielded again. "And _you_, you lucky, _lucky_ girl, got to see more of _me_! Isn't that wonderful?"

Piper made a neutral sound, a grunt that was barely heard by herself over the howling winds.

"Shame I might have to let you die," Dylan sighed, sounding actually regretful. "You were a fun person to be around, always playing hard-to-catch."

"It wasn't just play," she muttered, still staring at the gathering storm clouds, all crackling with electricity. One of the winged horses – Pegasus? Wasn't there only one? – Detached and flew towards her general direction. The other was barely visible thanks to the storm spirits, but she saw a fleck of black and a bronze light.

"Oh, Piper," Monster-Dylan laughed, waving his other hand carelessly and causing blades of wind to hit the ground hard. "You're so _funny_!"

Piper gulped as they climbed to higher skies. She took a deep breath, trying to let the calm feeling of talking people into doing things wash over her. "Hey, thanks!" she giggled, mentally gagging at the thought. "But I'd really appreciate it if you could, you know, let me go and get the rest of your lackeys to go away. I mean, a strong spirit like you, they'd _have_ to make you their leader."

Dear God – or was it gods? – flirting was harder than she thought. Still, he bought it.

"Huh," Piper almost heard him frown in thought. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, letting you go. And the rest of my lackeys…I am strong!"

"Yeah, you are," she almost had to force herself to say the words. "So… how about letting me go?"

"Hm? Oh, right," Dylan began to descend, but stopped. "Wait, what?"

Piper sighed mentally at this. The salesmen never snapped out of it until the next _day_, at the very _least_!

"Oh, I see now," Dylan growled, flapping his storm-cloud wings again. "You _are_ powerful, girl. A Charmspeaker. I should have guessed that you were a daughter of Aphrodite."

"_Aphrodite_?" That was _not_ the goddess she would have guessed to be her mother. She was hoping for someone like Athena, or Artemis.

They were going higher and farther now. As much as the urge to kick Monster-Dylan where it hurt was extremely tempting, she restrained herself. If Piper fell, she was dead.

"Or Hecate, but I doubt it."

"Gee, thanks."

"You're very welcome, my dear. Now, please feel more than welcome to snuggle into my very muscular chest as I fly like the wind – literarily – to our next destination!"

Oh, that was it. Piper opened her mouth to give a scathing retort, but he sped up suddenly, and her surroundings began to blur until she felt nauseated at the view.

Hating herself, Piper clenched her eyes shut and grabbed onto Dylan.

She heard him laugh arrogantly over the shrieking wind, and vowed that he would be hurt, some way or somehow.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"Piper!" Leo tried to run to her, but another wind spirit, anemone or whatever they were called, pushed him back with a gust of sudden, violent wind.

"C'mon, Valdez!" Coach Super-goat – or Psycho-goat – roared as he batted away another evil kite flyer. "Pick up the pace! Kill monsters!"

"With what?" Leo yelled back, trying to punch the wind that was actually laughing. It was, _surprisingly_, actually hard to punch air!

And he wasn't going to use that other secret of his. Uh-uh. No way, Jose.

Leo looked up, ready to duck and dodge the next anteater wind, when he froze.

"Are those _flying horses?"_

Coach spared a glance up, before swinging his club again. "_Reinforcements_! We don't need them, but nice to see they care!"

Yeah. Nice.

The winged ponies galloped down, and the people on them slashed away happily, doing a much better job and looking so much cooler, too.

Which was so unfair.

Within minutes, the last of them were dust, and being blown away by winds that aren't trying to kill them all, thankfully.

"I thought there was supposed to be two demigods here?" The blond girl asked Coach Hedge. All the excitement drained out of Leo because of those few words, and the smile dropped. _Piper_.

The goat-man cleared his throat, and for once sounds like he cares about something other than killing, food, and sports. "She, er, I don't know."

"She got taken by those anemone things," Leo spoke up, and cringed internally as those fierce gray eyes were turned on him.

"You mean the _Anemoi thuellai_?" the blond girl scanned the sky, searching for his friend, but didn't see anything, just like him.

"Can you find her?" Leo asked, but deep inside, a gut feeling told him that this would be impossible. "I mean, you can fly after on the winged horses and get her back, can't you?"

The girl and the other guy exchanged looks, as if they were parents trying to find a way to tell their kids that they weren't going to Disneyland like all the other families. Leo had seen that look plenty of times.

He also knew what that meant.

"Maybe, if they were still in eyesight and if this was a normal circumstance…"

They're trying to be gentle. Great.

Gentle hurts more.

"I'm sorry."

Those words break through.

"You're sorry? Why are _you_ sorry? It's not your fault!" He lets out a manic laugh, slowly sinking to the ground in hysteric bursts of cackling, before those chortles change to tears.

It's not. It's his. If he'd used the fire powers he had, then Piper would still be safe, and on the ground.

His fire has brought another to death. Wasn't his mother enough? Now, one of his only friends is gone, possibly forever.

The others watch, nervous, as he lets it all out. He can't run anymore, his legs can't take the strain.

They've shattered.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Piper felt it; the wind slowing down. Which meant Dylan was slowing down. She opened a fraction of one eye, trying to see where she was, but all she saw was trees. A forest?

Her captor flapped down, landing smoothly. "We're here, honey!"

Piper tried to not gag, and opened her mouth, ready to tell him off even if she got killed. She never got the chance, as someone walked up to them with gentle footsteps.

"Dylan," the voice, while slow and soft, still cut through the air like a whip, demanding attention.

Said monster snapped into attention and salute, dropping her on the ground. "Ow!"

"Milady!" he was all business now, no trace of playfulness or anything like that. He was actually serious. And in his eyes, covered with wind as they were, Piper saw slight fear, although Dylan was clearly trying to hide it.

Why he couldn't have done this at school, she didn't understand.

"You've brought her, I see."

Piper looked up slowly, facing Dylan's 'lady' and the owner of the deceptively soothing voice.

She saw a young girl around twelve years old. That was rather unexpected. What was weirder was that the girl in front of Piper had on strange black robes wrapped around her, with matching veils around her face and body, like wings of black gossamer. A gentle breeze stirred all the thin cloth on her.

The girl in black stepped forward, moving the veil over her eyes to show a pale, tired face with brown eyes and an exhausted smile. "Welcome, Piper McLean," the girl cooed, the soothing voice of hers making Piper wanting to fall asleep. "Welcome to the Realm of Sloth."

* * *

Review, and vote on my poll.

Thank you for reading!


	6. Sinful Dreams

Do _you_ own it? No. Do _I_ own it? No.

* * *

Percy watched as the new guy, Leo, dragged himself over the camp borders, not caring about the abrupt shift to the world of mythology. He just seemed so… defeated, as if something had broken him one too many times.

The only time he reacted was when a blazing hammer lit up his head. "Holy mother!" and the rest of the campers watched, rather amused, as he tried to move away from the symbol of Hephaestus lighting up the top of his head. It was like he was trying to write words in the air using his head.

That seemed to be about it for him, though. Jake Mason later told Percy that Leo was depressed about his friend gone missing. He also told him that he was now in Beckendorf's bunk, which really didn't reassure him.

"Is that safe?"

Jake shrugged.

Percy would have dug deeper, but Jake was under stress. The so-called 'Curse of Cabin Nine' was really taking its toll on the best forgers of camp, and particularly the new head counselor. Jake wasn't someone who wanted power or great responsibility. He was someone who liked to be down to earth, helping _others_ be great. Jake didn't like the spotlight.

"Well, good luck, bro."

Jake's shoulders slumped. "I'll need it," he muttered. "Maybe I'll just drop down to the Tyche Cabin and get some charms or something."

He shuffled away, heading to the cabin of the luck goddess, and Percy stood still for a moment, wondering what to do.

The pegasi? No, Blackjack, who would not show it even if he was threatened to be dragged down to Tartarus, was exhausted.

Archery? Nope, not even.

Sword fighting? Well…

Just as Percy began to head over to the arena, two cool hands wrapped around his eyes, shielding his vision. "Guess who?" a familiar voice drawled.

"I don't know," He replied with a slight smile. "I don't happen to be hosting the Spirit of Delphi within me. Tell me, kind stranger, would you happen to know where I might find such a person?"

Rachel Elizabeth Dare, only daughter of the owner of Dare Enterprises and the Oracle of Delphi removed her hands and slapped him on the back of his head.

Percy grinned and turned to face his friend. She was pretty much the same as he remembered her, with red hair and shining eyes. She seemed tired and drawn, but Rachel was still smiling in happiness.

The only thing slightly out of place was her Clarion's uniform, crisp and lady-like, sticking out against the general camp-ness of Camp Half-Blood like a sore thumb.

"I didn't get to change," Rachel told him, reading his expression all too well. "As soon as all _this_ happened," she gestured widely with her arms, and Percy remembered just what had happened to the mortal world. "Chiron sent for me immediately, using the fastest method he had."

"Pegasi?"

"No, the Nico-di-Angelo Express. Shadow travelling was really weird, but it gave me an idea for this one painting I wanted to do, where it's like an amusement park filled with dark, horrific rides."

Percy thought that was a pretty accurate description of shadow travelling, having experienced the method himself.

"Anyways, I need to show you something," Rachel grabbed his arm and began to drag him away, to the general direction to her Oracle cave.

"Before all this happened, I was having really weird dreams. And those were really weird, even for someone who has an old fortune-telling spirit in them. It's like the Spirit of Delphi isn't sure about anything anymore. One minute, I see you missing and Annabeth frantically searching for you, or something just like that.

"The next minute, I see something that looks like the past, like when Pandora opened her _pithos_. But I can't see what came out of it, because everything goes dark the moment she does."

"Are you sure they're not just normal dreams?"

Rachel stopped and shot him a baleful look. "Normal dreams don't have me waking up puking everything I've eaten with glowing eyes, Percy."

He backed away from the death glare, both hands up to show he meant no harm. "Right. Sorry."

The redhead rubbed her temples, closing her eyes. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "But I'm exhausted. I feel like all my energy is being used by the Spirit. It's like I'm an electronic device being charged, and the moment I'm done the Spirit of Delphi swoops in and steals it all, leaving me with barely anything to run on."

"What an interesting comparison."

"Shut up, Kelp Head."

Percy raised an eyebrow at Rachel, who blushed. "Sorry, Percy."

"Nah, it's cool," He stopped at the entrance to the cave, and held open the curtains. "Ladies first?"

Rachel ducked in past the purple shades, and Percy followed.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed. At Apollo's insistence, the cave had been decorated to be a super-cool hide-out place like the ones he saw in movies. Right now, all the cool stuff was covered by about a million canvases, all half-filled with hasty paintings and sketches.

Percy knew just what kind of artwork Rachel was capable of, and he could see that this wasn't her best ones. Still, they were realistic enough so that he could recognize them. Percy frowned, and began to look closer. None of them looked really happy.

Him, sleeping next to wolves while Annabeth wandered around the country searching for him.

A large battleship with a strangely familiar dragon masthead, with seven shadowed figures on it.

The gods capturing some creatures using a metallic net. Only seven pairs of eyes were visible, and all seven seemed to glow with hate, even on the hastily painted canvas.

A lady who looked like she was dressed in clothes made out of dirt being sung to sleep by a young girl dressed in odd, layered clothes. Both were clothed in black. Next to them, a skinny man grinned sadistically.

A dark-skinned man twice as big as the average guy was fighting about a hundred people at once – and winning easily. Leading the assault against the giant was a blond boy with a golden sword and purple t-shirt.

The painting that caught his attention happened to be the biggest one right in the middle of the cave. It also happened to be the only one complete.

A woman, dressed like people did back in Ancient Greece did, was kneeling on the ground, her eyes trained onto a sealed jar in front of her with an identical expression to what Rachel's face had looked like as she held Pandora's _Pithos_ back in the Battle of Manhattan. And indeed, that was the same jar in the painting, the one that had unleashed so much grief onto humanity.

"This dream just keeps coming back," Rachel explained, standing next to him. "I'm pretty sure the lady's Pandora. She tries to not open it, but always, there are voices inside the _pithos_ calling for her. And those voices are just so tempting, promising her everything and the satisfaction of her curiosity. Finally, she reaches out and unseals it, but then everything goes dark."

She sounded haunted. Percy clapped her on the back, trying to cheer her up. "Are you going to tell Chiron about this?"

"I have to. I know that this is important. I don't know how, or why, but it is," Rachel's voice was determined, but her face was drawn and exhausted, as if she hadn't gotten enough sleep the night before. "I can't explain it, because it's just a feeling I have, but _this_," she swallowed thickly. "I _know_ this could make a huge difference."

"I think, with the entire world like this, _anything_ can make a huge difference."

Rachel smacked his arm. Still, Percy could see that his joke had loosened her up a bit. "Go make out with your girlfriend."

"Gladly," Percy bowed deeply, and began to make his way out of her cave. Before he could pass the purple curtains, Rachel called him.

"Oh, and Percy?"

He turned around to face her. "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"Anytime, Rachel."

The shades swung as he passed them, and the hero of Olympus made his way down the hill, ready to do some sword training.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

She was invisible, a person watching something on television; she could see and understand, but she couldn't interfere. Whenever Rachel Elizabeth Dare had one of her dreams where she was somewhere else, she always wondered if this was what all gods went through; being forced to watch terrible things and not being able to help.

Her current dream was about Pandora again. The woman anxiously glanced at her object of interest, biting her ripped-up and bleeding nails without quite realizing the pain she was causing herself. The _pithos_ was speaking, their voices echoing inside Pandora and Rachel's head rather than ears.

_Open_, a low voice, deep, seductive and sexy to Rachel's ears, purred. _And true pleasure shall be yours_.

Pandora looked tempted, and began to reach out with her abused fingertips, only to draw back once more with a whimper. Clearly, she was trying to fight the influence of the _pithos_, and whatever was in there speaking to her.

The male voice snarled, and another took its place, this one female and filled with promises of luxury, richness and all the material goods in the world. _So unleash us_, the passionate soprano murmured into the tension-filled air. _And you shall be richer than any queen._

Once again, the woman seemed to give into the demands, but she pulled herself back, right before touching the leather sealing it.

The second voice hissed in frustration, and withdrew to let another take the place. Pandora covered her ears and began to rock back and forth on the ground, curled up in a ball.

_Open_! This time, the voice was commanding, filled with a need to avenge. It was a booming bass, much deeper than the previous male, and Rachel thought that any politician would kill to have a voice so authoritative like this. _Power, true power shall be yours! All your enemies shall know true fear, and quake at your name!_

Wincing, Pandora ran out of the room with tears leaking out of her eyes. The jar stayed in the spot, but after a moment, it popped out of place, appearing next to the fleeing woman again. At the same time, Rachel was pulled through to Pandora.

With a strangled cry, the poor woman tried to bury the _pithos_, shove it under the river, hide it in the attic and stuff it under her bed.

Nothing worked, not even trying to hide it under the bed.

Pandora collapsed next to the _pithos_, weeping in a raging turmoil of emotions while the voices constantly pestered her, trying to charm her into opening the jar that would unleash everything mankind would have to fight.

Other than the first voices, there seemed to be three more; a female one, a cool contralto that promised her everything, to make Pandora the most envied one of all; a male with a high tenor voice, who promised her satisfaction and fulfilment; a girl's voice that was a unique mix of soprano and alto, chiming her words on how Pandora would be the queen of all, including the gods.

Each one promised so much, and yet Pandora resisted with surprising temperance, much to their disappointment. They just kept speaking, following her when she fled or left with words that dripped with honey and promises of power, money, treasure, beauty, and everything anyone could have asked for back in Ancient Greece.

Then, it seemed like the _pithos_ sighed in annoyance. _Move, my brethren_, the new voice sniffed. This one was female, and unlike the other ones, bustling with enthusiasm and energy, this one seemed…tired. That was the best way to describe it, and Rachel guessed from her low whispers that she had a rather nice alto voice. But under the main sleepy tone, it was warm, inviting, and even with the few words, the will to keep the jar closed was slipping.

_My dear Pandora,_ she crooned, and Rachel felt dread. This one was different. While the others had been distant, even in their promises to be her eternal servant, this one didn't seem to care either way, only searching after Pandora's best interest. This one was relaxing, and dangerously so. _My most sincere apologies for the behaviours of my brethren. We do not like being in each other's company, and to be stuck in this tiny space with each other is rather irritating, you see. I hope you'll understand._

Pandora sniffed, and wiped at her red, puffed up eyes. "Y-you know my name?" she hiccoughed out in slight surprise at the new voice that she had never been tormented by.

_Yes_, the woman whispered, her voice washing over Rachel like a lullaby, slowly pulling her to a nice, relaxing nap after a hard day at work. Rachel wanted to scream at Pandora, to not trust the sleepy voice.

But she couldn't. Pandora had been harassed by the others for too long, and relished at the thought of someone who sympathized with her. "Oh!" she cried out, covering her mouth with her hand. "Oh, _oh_!"

The voice clicked her tongue in pity. _You poor thing, _she crooned._ You suffered far too long, haven't you?_

"Yes!" she cried, tears running down her face. "Yes, I have! I have!"

_Where is your husband, dear Pandora?_

Pandora gulped, and heaved a sigh. "He's not here."

_Not here?_ _But_ _surely he is! He should be supporting you now, helping you through this!_

At this, the other voices began to screech and argue.

"Shut up!" Pandora cried, and they fell silent.

_Sorry_, sighed the last voice. _My brethren don't understand that I want to be your friend._

"You do?"

_Yes._

_No she doesn't_! Rachel wanted to scream, but she found herself unable to. Rachel hated dreams like this, where she was helpless and had to watch things that were mostly stupid mistakes made by people.

That single word had more impact on Pandora than all those promises of riches or power. With determination shining in her eyes, Pandora reached out to open the leather seal.

The moment a tiny crack was opened, Rachel was pulled back through a misty green tunnel and rudely awakened.

Gasping, she shot up and tumbled out of bed, and stumbled to a mirror, where the image of her stared back with frizzy hair and glowing eyes.

"Oh, not again," she moaned, before stumbling to the toilet to dry-heave.


	7. Anger's Puppet

Your common sense should tell you that I am not RR. If it says so, trust it.

* * *

"The Realm of _what_?" Piper McLean had just been told that Greek Mythology was real, her mother was a goddess, and that she was a demigod – all in less than twenty four hours. Her brain did not wish to accept anything that she couldn't really remember learning about. Or perhaps that was just the strange aura this girl had. Something about her very presence just made Piper want to curl up and shut her eyes.

"_Sloth_, Pipes," Dylan sounded grave, as if he was at a funeral of someone he respected enough to actually shut up at. "Like the monkey-thing. No offense, milady," he added hastily.

The girl ignored him, still having that serene expression on her face. Only, it wasn't like the serene when you were in a gorgeously designed Chapel, staring up at the peaceful pictures of angels and happy people, it was more of a calm danger waiting and resting, like a sleeping panther; all too deadly, but graceful even when still.

Piper swallowed, or tried to anyways; her mouth was dry. "A-are you a god?"

The girl smiled lightly. "I am honoured that you would think of me as one of your divine family, but I am not. What I am, however…."

Piper waited for her to finish her sentence, but instead, the girl's eyelids began to droop, as if she would fall asleep right there and then.

Perhaps she would have, perhaps she wouldn't. Either way, Piper never found out. "Milady?" Dylan prompted, using the gentlest voice she had ever heard from him. _Ever_.

"What?" the girl's head jerked up, tired, and Piper noticed slight purple shades under her eyes. Lack of sleep, it seemed.

"About our guest?" he prompted again.

The young lady gave her an exhausted glance, as if Piper was the only thing between her and a nice, soft bed. "Put her in the Lotus Hotel for now."

From the sudden familiar, cocky grin on the wind spirit's face, the Lotus Hotel was something bad. Very, _very_ bad.

"And get me more of the brown beverage. What was it again?"

"Coffee, milady."

"Yes, that. Get me more coffee. The mocha frappuccino with cookie crumbles, size grande. And aspirin."

Dylan bowed, and roughly grabbed Piper's arm, yanking her up to her feet. "Ow!"

"Come on, Piper!" he flashed her that infernal smile, nearly blinding her with the stupid teeth. "We're going to Las Vegas!"

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"Nightmares?" Percy asked when he saw Rachel making her way to the food with a drawn face.

"What gave it away?" Rachel smoothed back her hair, and tried to straighten her clothes.

"You look like the living dead, that's how he knew." A dark-haired boy who looked around twelve years of age interrupted them, reaching in between the two to grab a stack of pancakes. "And I would know what the living dead look like. The movies have everything wrong. There should be more ghostly energy, and they should be a bit more in decay, because reanimation doesn't prevent nature's course from happening-"

"Morning, Nico-o," Percy greeted the son of Hades, stretching his name as he let out a big yawn. "Glad to see you're cheerful today."

Nico glared half-heartedly, as if he wanted to punch Percy. He ignored it, however, and scanned the tables piled with food, searching for something. "Pass the maple syrup," he partly asked, partly commanded as he finally found the sweet liquid.

Rachel saw the glass pitcher, and realized that she was closer to the concentrated sap than Percy. She picked it up, and handed it to the younger boy, who took it with a muttered thanks. Their hands brushed, and Rachel nearly flinched. His hands were colder than ice. It hadn't been like that yesterday!

Nico seemed to realize the reason for her shock. "Son of Death," he grinned wryly. "One or two degrees away from corpse temperature every now and then."

"Thank you for that _lovely_ image, dear cousin." Rolling his eyes, Percy left them to toss a pancake into the brazier, a burnt offering for the gods.

Rachel would have followed, but those freezing hands grabbed her wrists. "Seriously, what's wrong with you?" Nico asked, deadly serious. "You're acting even weirder than when I went to pick you up, and that was _really_ weird, with the prophecy about Sleeping Beauty."

Rachel winced. "You _had_ to remind me of that. Did you make a copy?"

Nico rummaged in his pockets, and then pulled out a crumpled piece of paper with a few brown stains that stiffened the paper suspiciously. "Is this blood?"

Under her glare, he shifted uncomfortably. "No?"

"Not reassuring, Nico," she avoided the parts with the maybe-blood, and read the hasty scrawl, checking if it really was the prophecy she had spewed out along with hissing sounds and smoke the moment Nico had asked her what was up.

_Trapped One must be freed_

_One mortal and demigods three_

_Chosen by the identical dreams_

_'Cross the country, follow the beam_

_To the woman who sleeps_

_Who must be woken by locking lips_

_She will be your greatest aid_

_Along with her partner then made_

_But beware the Earth_

_And those of her birth_

_Free the imprisoned, truth must be learned_

_Lest all Sins rampage and the world be burned_

"Oh, this _does_ sound like Sleeping Beauty. Did you tell Chiron about this?"

"I was supposed to?"

Rachel held back the urge to hit him, because in physical form, Nico _was_ younger than her, and that _probably_ counted as child abuse, which _probably_ did not look good on an aspiring artist's history. "No, Nico, this was supposed to be locked up in a magic vault somewhere in Tartarus."

"I'm going to assume that you're being sarcastic," Nico sighed, and took the paper back. "I'll give it to him now, then."

"_Oh_, no you don't," she lifted her plate, and snatched the paper back. _"I'll_ give it to him. You go and eat."

Nico may have wanted to say more on that, but Rachel all but fled the scene, pausing only to mutter "Apollo" at the brazier while dumping a piece of food into the fire. Instead of smelling the heavenly scents like she normally did for artistic inspiration, she raced back to the head table to the centaur.

"Chiron," she whispered loudly, slapping the messy paper down in front of him. "New prophecy."

The centaur looked down at the paper, and frowned. "Is that blood?"

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"Archers!" Clenching his teeth, Jason dove to the ground, careful to not stab himself with his sword. That would have been embarrassing, and both Octavian and Reyna would have never let him hear the end of it, assuming he survived the wound. "Fire!"

Camp Jupiter's expert archers lined up, aimed, and unleashed the deadly volley of arrows into the air, where it began to rain down on the giant.

Giant. Such a strange word. For Jason's world of gods, it referred to the children of the Earth that had rebelled against Olympus and had been struck down such a long time ago. Right now, the adversary they were facing wasn't one of them (thank the gods for that small mercy) but he seemed pretty close.

A hulking man of twenty feet or so, the new enemy had skin the color of roasted coffee beans, blazing red eyes, and a huge, muscled body – even if he had been Jason's height, he still would have been extremely muscular. On top of that, he had what seemed like an endless supply of weapons and strength. Every hit that landed on him was exchanged for a hundred for their side, and his injuries, minor as they were, healed almost instantly, while their side had about fifty out of action, by both injury and death.

Oh, and he was very angry at the Romans, for apparently no reason at all.

"Die, filthy Romans!" he roared, and out of the corner of his eyes, Jason saw Octavian cower, holding up a stuffed bear as if the little toy would have protected him.

He would have laughed, but Jason was all too aware of the threat at the moment. This was the second day, and he was back again for more, still rampaging at the camp borders, fighting Terminus as he tried to get something. But what?

The rain of arrows landed, and he snarled, pulling them out and, after magically lighting them with fire, threw them back in a fiery shower of splinters. Someone behind him yelped in pain, but Jason didn't look back. Those behind him were soldiers, experienced and knowing of the ways of war. Them, he could trust to look after themselves.

The giant threw his head back and laughed at the sight of well-trained demigods falling apart at the seams under attack. Taking advantage of the distraction, Reyna swooped in on Skippy, and stabbed the man in the back with a spear. In other circumstances, it would have been frowned upon as cowardice, but everyone, including Jason, cheered at the direct hit.

The cheer died when the man just turned around, long weapon still sticking out behind him, with literally flaming eyes. "You dare?" and a massive fist crunched into Scipio, sending the brown Pegasus and the rider falling out of the sky. He could hear Reyna – Reyna, tough daughter of Bellona and fellow Praetor – scream in pain and terror. From that height, she'd survive, but she'd be immobile, unable to defend herself or get out of the way of any threats.

If he didn't intrude, she could get seriously hurt.

"Help her!" Jason shouted, without even looking properly, and flipped his sword hastily into lance-form. The extra length would help a lot.

Imperial Gold weapon properly gripped, Jason ran towards the giant, urging the winds to help him run faster. It was hard to explain just how he did this, because this, the control of the air, the wind, lightning, flying in general, was something that was natural as breathing to him as a son of Jupiter. Literally swift as the wind, he was there in an instant. "Hey!" Jason managed to yell once, before mentally ordering the winds to throw him up near his big head.

The giant turned – and found a golden lance stuck in his throat.

Any other person would have died, or at least tried to scream in pain.

Instead, time seemed to have stopped. Instead of screaming in pain, or dying, as Jason would have preferred immensely, the giant merely frowned, and opened his mouth to talk. "A son of Zeus?"

Despite the situation being not quite right for this, Jason felt he needed to correct him. "Son of _Jupiter_, actually. Their Greek forms don't exist anymore."

The giant was either a masochist or he couldn't feel anything, because he actually grinned. "Oh, ignorant demigods," he chuckled. "You're all so naïve."

A huge, dark hand shot up, faster than it should have been possible, and grabbed Jason around his lower half of the body, tight enough to not let him wiggle free, but not enough to crush him painfully into a pile of Jason-goo. It was still uncomfortable.

He let go of his lance. It was a stupid thing to do, but at the time, he'd been grabbed by a giant guy, and his hands had been loose with shock. Still stupid, but it wasn't on purpose.

The giant shook his head, as if there was something bothering his scalp under the closely-cropped hair, and turned away. "I'll be back!" he roared.

Jason struggled and tried to free himself, letting strong electric currents run on his skin, and mentally wondered just how this enormous man was planning on leaving. The last time, he had erupted into flames, and as powerful as his father's blood was, it didn't give him any immunities to fire. Jason wasn't quite sure what the man's magic fires would do to him, but he didn't want to become Roast Demigod. That was a stupid, humiliating and ridiculous way to die.

A small blessing was given, and the man sprouted large wings, black as obsidian, behind his back. They were powerful ones, like the wings of a magnificent eagle, and each one was about twenty five feet long. The sky darkened under them, and even from that height, Jason could see the Cohorts lowering their weapons at the sight, gawking.

"Are you ready to get your illusions shattered, son of Jupiter?" the man sneered at him as he crouched.

"What illusions?" Jason shouted back; or tried to. The last part of his defiance was drowned out by his captor leaping into the air, his powerful wings beating down mercilessly on everyone below with immense strength like an uncontrolled storm. Within seconds everyone was a tiny speck, and then so small Jason's eyes couldn't make them out.

"Save your energy!" he said, deep voice still heard perfectly over the howling winds. "Your electricity only fuels my power!"

At his words, Jason realized – no, remembered – that he had still been letting the electricity crackle over his skin. He didn't feel it now, but when he stopped, his body would probably be overwhelmed with fatigue. The amount of lightning he'd been channeling should have hurt someone even of _his_ size. Heck, it could have probably taken out _Hannibal_ easily, but this guy was an exception.

Gritting his teeth at the fact that he had to stop, had to give up fighting this monster, Jason reluctantly stopped running the current and grimaced at the sudden gnawing hollowness in his stomach. It had taken a lot more out of him than he had thought.

And then a sharp pain hit him in the back of his head.

While Jason struggled, trying to overcome the rushing darkness, he heard the giant laugh, the vibrations running through his arms and shaking him. "Don't trust a Sin, kid."

His sight faded to black.

* * *

Wow... last chapter, a lot of reviews came in asking for Nico to be spared... Gosh, such a dilemma... But someone will die, I assure you. But will it be Nico?

Oh, and I reached fifty fics! *hands out cookies to random readers, just because I'm happy*

Anyway, review, vote on the poll to determine the end of this series, and thanks for reading!


	8. Washed Away Memories

I don't own anyone but Envy, 'Sloth', and the sleeping girl. And, I don't own Silver and Gold. You'll see.

* * *

From what Gold could make out, she was in an enormous, super-luxurious hotel. _One room_ in the suite that she spent most of her time in alone was the size of her old house, with glass floors looking down on what looked like an indoor park complete with waterslide, hundreds of games, and a pool. The bathroom alone could have been its own pool, and there were five more bedrooms of the same size, as well as a lounge that could have been a ballroom, all furnished with expensive furniture and decorations, with jewels lain around almost carelessly. Somehow, she knew those were all real.

In other words, it was something Gold could have never, ever afforded, even if she spent the next five hundred years doing nothing but work.

It wasn't like she wanted to be here, anyways, so high above the calming, safe, sturdy earth. No, Gold, and her only friend Silver, was here as a mere servant. Worse, she was a slave, someone to be the handmaiden, the maid of a lady who looked like a goddess of beauty and kindness. The woman with luscious chocolate hair and with deep eyes of an unnatural shade of rose was anything but. She was ruthless, cruel, arrogant, bratty, and chock-filled with supernatural powers. One of this lady's remarkable talents was to, it seemed, give the wind actual life and make them do her every bidding.

Wind demons – for that was what they must have been, stormy creatures with the form of humans and horses – jostled past her, ignoring the little slave as they rushed to their mistress with files, paper, coffee, and other important stuff.

Wincing slightly, she stepped carefully onto the glass floor, expecting the transparent sheet holding everyone up in the building to shatter any moment. Her mistress – what she had been forced to call the bratty princess in various shades of pink silk for the past month – clicked her tongue impatiently.

"Slave, hurry up!" her voice, such a pleasant sounding one, rang throughout the room carrying the nasty words with their loveliness.

For the first time since she'd been brought here, all of the wind spirits focused their attentions onto her, and it wasn't nice receiving the attention, seeing all the hungry glares and looks as if she was nothing more than some piece of meat to rip apart and devour.

Shivering, she balanced the tray carefully in her trembling hands, and rushed over to the woman resting in her king-sized bed. "Your chocolate tarts, mistress."

She reached over and snatched off one of the beautiful pastries, and popped them into her mouth. Gold felt a pang of envy for a moment. Her 'mistress' managed to eat three feasts a day and still remain impossibly slim and curvy.

"About time," she complained, her pretty voice imperiously annoyed as she set the tray next to her. "How long does it take to bring me my snacks?"

Gold didn't answer, and bowed deeply. That wasn't a question to be answered.

Sniffing, the mistress waved her away, a clear dismissal. At her gesture, the living wind surged right back up, nearly throwing Gold off her feet. With some difficulty, she passed through the monsters and snuck back to the closet that served as her shared room.

As quietly as possible, she turned the knob and opened the door, just a crack. "Silver!" she hissed inside. "It's me, Gold!"

At first, she couldn't hear anything. Then, some shuffling sounds were made as a silver-clothed girl slipped out of the racks of clothes at the side. Her roommate and only sympathetic companion in this ridiculous amnesic situation, Silver was given her name for the clothes she was wearing, and had given Gold her name, claiming that she had 'beautiful golden eyes'. A dark-haired, olive-skinned girl, Silver had beautiful black hair braided back with a cord the same colour as her namesake clothes. Right now, her dark eyes were filled with relief. "Gold!" Silver sighed. "You're alright!"

She would have waved off the concern, but Gold was too happy that someone cared about her in these circumstances to stop the mothering. It was like Silver was used to having a younger sibling to care about. So instead of telling off the concern, Gold dug into her pocket and revealed a few squashed pastries, snuck from the 'stale' pile that the mistress refused to eat.

"I've got an apple turnover, a brioche, and a chocolate croissant," each on was laid on the stolen linen napkin. "Half them?"

"Half them," Silver agreed, taking out her knife. While Silver had no memories of herself except the odd fringes (like her) she had a few useful items, such as a hunting knife and a dagger. After wiping the dagger several times, they used the strange bronze weapon for cutting food. Now, Silver reached over and sliced through the pastries with little effort, and pushed the slightly larger portions towards her.

"Silver," she began, exasperated at Silver giving her the bigger parts. She pushed back the stray locks of curly hair getting in her eyes, ready to give her another long talk.

Large eyes blinked innocently. "What?"

Silver was trying to act like she didn't know. Gold tried to not roll my eyes. Once Silver pretended to be innocent, it was next to impossible to make her admit her actions.

Huffing, Gold took the larger portions, mentally swearing that the next time she'd eat first and _then_ bring her the bigger part of their meal. She bit into the two-hour old pastry, savoring the sweetness and the crisp feelings of the golden flakes on her tongue before it melted away, adding what nutrition it had to her survival. She let out a soft sigh.

Silver grinned and popped her own small meal into her mouth. "Good Gold," Silver cooed in a bad parody of the mistress's haughty voice. "Now, watch the house while mommy goes and work, okay?"

Ignoring the look she was shooting her, Silver wiped her hands on her rapidly dirtying clothes and exited the dimly lit closet. Silver's shift lasted for an hour, which meant that Gold could either rest… or go to the mirror.

That wasn't even a question.

On fours, Gold crawled under one of the black dresses hanging to the far left, shifted some of the scarves on hooks at the back of the wall, and revealed the looking glass.

It was rather pretty, with a golden frame wrought intricately into waves and shapes finer than silk threads set with small diamonds. The mirror itself was only just bigger than her head, but the frame made it at least twice as large. The glass part shone with a pale rainbow sheen, like there was oil lightly covering the surface.

The first time she had found it, both Silver and her had watched with gawking mouths as it showed various scenes that were impossible to reflect in the small room. From then on, they took turns going out, each trying to keep an eye on the strange looking glass. Neither of them said it aloud, but they hoped that this might show them something that might return their missing memories to them.

As she watched, her curly-haired, dark-skinned reflection rippled and faded away, instead showing an entirely different scene, of a small room painted black where a girl of seventeen or so was crumpled up on the ground. Manacles and chains were wrapped around her slim wrists, and her face, a delicate, beautiful one, was drawn as if she was in pain. She was asleep, but turning fitfully.

Gold studied the scene, desperately trying to trigger any memories just like she always did. Nothing floated to the top of her mind, other than the vague thought of her being similar to the mistress in an unknown way. That was useless.

She still stayed there, hoping for something else to come up. Slowly, almost reluctantly, the image changed to a bunch of girls, dressed in similar clothes to Silver, running with hawks and wolves. In their hands, they wielded bows and knives like Silver's. The lead girl had a tiara of silver on her brow, and she was barking silent orders around.

No new memories, although Gold made a mental note to tell this to Silver. Maybe it would help her with the same amnesia problem.

Gold tried to focus again. This time, the image changed faster, making her heart race in anticipation. What she saw disappointed her. It was just the stupid large clock tower below the glass-floored suite. The top of the time-telling tower within the hotel had a face large enough to be a normal sized bedroom, and it was at the very far north of the hotel. The golden hands were visible even from far away, the black face contrasting greatly behind it.

Shaking her head, Gold tried to focus again, but all thoughts of scrying the mirror left at the sound of the door creaking open. Heart pounding, Gold quietly crawled away from the mirror to under the next dress, so even if someone found her, they wouldn't see the mirror.

"Gold?" the familiar warm voice of Silver cut through the tense silence. "It's been an hour," Her eyes rolled to the top of the ceiling in relief. Gold crawled out from under the heavy clothing, grinning weakly at her roommate. She looked tired, but there was a warm smile on her. Her silvery clothes reminded her of just what she had seen today.

"Hey, Silver, I saw girls dressed like you in the mirror," Gold began to tell her about the girls in silver she had seen, noting the way Silver was frowning, tugging at her clothes, and unconsciously lifting her hand to her face or back. "Sound familiar?"

"Yes, but…" the frown deepened, and Silver looked frustrated. "I don't know," she finally gave up after a few moments of intense thought. "All that really comes to mind is a junkyard. And a toy figurine."

"A junkyard? A figurine?" sighing, Gold plopped down on the ground, slightly depressed at the sudden lack of hope. "That's a dead end if I ever heard one."

"Cheer up, it might have been helpful." Silver also sat down, and took out two dainty sandwiches, meant for fancy tea parties and such. "Cucumber or egg salad?"

"Either's good, but _don't_ give me both," She warned her, seeing how Silver seemed determined to feed her both of the grub.

Silver pouted, but handed her the egg salad, which Gold took with silent gratefulness. After a week of sugary food, the relatively healthy fare was more than welcome to their sweet-sick mouth.

"Better luck next time, I guess."

Gold stood; ready to go back to sneaking food and serving a bratty girl while Silver crawled below the clothes to the hidden mirror. "Good luck!" they called to each other, and she exited the closet.

Good luck meant that they had time to rest, to eat something decent. Dusting her hands, Gold made her way to the kitchen.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

It was literarily a feast they had waiting there, the long tables lined with donuts, candies, pies, tarts, quiches, brioches, and so many other things she couldn't quite name. Picking up one of the large, polished serving trays, Gold loaded the platter with the snacks the mistress loved so much, trying to not drool or lose control and stuff herself silly. It was a stupid idea when there was one of the living winds watching her every action like a hawk.

Fill the tray, pick it up, balance the thing, walk over to where she's waiting-

Not one. Two.

Oh, my.

Gold blinked, and things focused. No, it had just been a trick of the light, to make her think the two sitting on the bed talking were identical. There was the mistress, and then there was a younger girl, even younger than Gold's thirteen, with black hair and dreamy brown eyes, garbed in layers of thin, black cloth that flowed. Not even close to resembling mistress at all.

So why was she so scared of her?

"Your snack, mistress."

She barely spared a look at her, but the newcomer did. Playing safe, Gold ducked her head in a small bow of respect, and kept it down with the hopes of her looking away.

She didn't. "Is she the…?" the younger one had a nice voice, only hers was more soothing than the mistress's. Like a lullaby that didn't provoke any jealousy in her at all.

"Yes," the mistress snatched off a tart and stuffed it into her mouth. "Would you like one?"

She certainly wasn't offering it to her. Gold held the tray closer in reach of the younger one, who took a small brioche with powdered sugar with two thin, pale fingers.

"Thank you, Lady Envy," she murmured respectfully, biting daintily into the small puffy pastry.

Mistress actually looked up, a smile warm and sincere on her perfect lips. "You're most welcome, Sloth."

Gold quietly put the tray between the two, and started to leave. "No, wait."

A frozen, polite smile on her lips, Gold turned and bowed. "Yes, miss?"

'Sloth' smiled hazily. "Stay," she ordered, pointing to a spot near them as if she was a dog she was training to behave.

From the way mistress was looking at her, she was to follow orders. "Yes, miss," she said quietly, taking her place obediently. Gold didn't know what mistress – who's name, it seemed, was Envy – would do if she misbehaved, but she had seen one wind spirit burst into golden dust just because it had ruffled her hair by accident. Imagine what she'd do to a human like her.

And then it seemed they forgot about her, because they went back to chatting like a pair of super-close siblings. "How are my minions serving you?" Sloth asked, her head tipped to one side, the black hair spilling and almost merging with her clothes.

Mistress – Envy – waved a perfect hand dismissively. "Rather well, although they try to eat my servants every now and then. So kind of you to lend me the wind when the water cannot come to me."

Sloth bowed her head, a mimicry of Gold's earlier actions to her. "Nothing can quite make up for what I owe you, Lady."

Did this make sense to her? Not at all. Gold was eavesdropping on something that she didn't understand, and she didn't like it. She was supposed to be sneaking food so she and Silver wouldn't starve, not listening in on two girls talking!

Mistress reached over and actually smoothed back the black locks of Sloth. "So well mannered," she cooed. She actually cooed. This was one of the most positive emotions Gold had ever seen from her. "Unlike that barbaric brother of mine."

"Did you get the gift from Lord Wrath?" Sloth smiled wryly, as if there was a double meaning to 'gift'. From the strange way she pronounced it, Gold would have said there was.

"An unconscious son of Jupiter? I've gotten better. Like that daughter of Aphrodite you gave me. Charmspeaker, very nice." Son of _who_? Daughter of _who_? Charm _what_?

Sloth shot her a direct look, and Gold flinched. Her look was knowing, as if she could read her very mind.

"Anyways, I'm glad you're back. I need to get back to Brooklyn, or they'll start to miss me," She stood and kissed both side of Sloth's cheeks in the flaunty way she'd seen French people do. "Take care, dear one!"

At first, Gold thought she'd walk away in that model-like way of hers. She only took a couple of steps, shook out the skirts of her pink silk, and – her mouth hung open – she dissolved into a pillar of water, like a tornado, that swirled into itself until nothing was left, not even a single drop of mistress-water.

"Glad I'm back?"

Gold turned to Sloth, only she wasn't looking at her; she was facing the wind creatures that had silently gathered near them.

They howled back with enthusiasm, the silence shattering uselessly. Over the general shrieks of the living wind, Gold made out the words "water witch", "temperamental one", and "missed their true mistress".

Scared, Gold snuck away, back to the sanctuary of their closet, hoping that Silver would forgive the lack of food for the new turn of events.

* * *

Review, and the first person to guess the identities of the amnesiac servants... well, you'll see.


	9. Shared Secrets

Nope, nothing.

* * *

"Thalia!" entering camp borders, the daughter of Zeus grinned as she found herself tackled by Annabeth.

"Hey, Annie, glad to see you're good," Thalia patted her back, and then winced as Annabeth tightened her grip. "Ow, I'm sorry, _ow_!" Immortality did not protect her against the iron bands that were Annabeth's arms.

Annabeth released her, smirking slightly. That disappeared as she studied her face, the worried, distracted look in her stormy gray eyes. "You alright?"

Thalia nodded. "Yeah. Nothing new really, other than everyone being asleep and all. Any clues?"

"Rachel has strange dreams, but those lead to dead ends. And, Chiron may know something, but he won't tell me," she looked frustrated. Thalia sympathized with the blonde, and wanted to stay to help come up with plots to make Chiron spill (which would have failed), but over Annabeth's head, she noticed a silver-garbed girl arguing with another girl in an orange t-shirt.

"I'll be back," Thalia promised, nodding to the two. "I need to keep the Hunters from killing campers."

Annabeth looked back, her expression almost bored. "Oh, that's Lou Ellen. She's the counselor for the Hecate Cabin."

"Hecate?" Thalia winced. "Damn. That's Diane she's arguing with."

"Daughter of?"

"Ares."

"Ah."

"Yeah, you see the problem, don't you?" Thalia began to jog away. "See you at lunch!"

And then, a bit further ahead; "Hey, you two! Break it up or I'll zap you!"

The two girls stopped arguing, but the tension was still there.

"Diane, go to Cabin Eight," Thalia ordered. Better to try and smother the conflict. "Lou Ellen?"

"Yes?" her voice was cold. Thalia admitted she was brave, the smaller one standing up to someone clearly stronger and bigger.

Making sure Diane was out of earshot, she winked. "Nice."

Thalia was greeted with the rather pleasant surprise of Lou Ellen smiling back. "Thanks."

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Somehow, the Hunters managed to refrain from killing a camper, and the campers managed to not paint the silver cabin pink, or poison the Hunters with centaur blood again.

They were getting along rather well, given their history of hating each other.

Of course, at campfire, both sides and Chiron knew a sing-a-long was not the way to end this relatively peaceful day. So instead, they skipped to the speech Rachel was to give.

The Oracle had told Chiron to wait, that it wasn't quite the time to tell them about what she had seen until the Hunters were here. A few counsellors had objected to that, complaining that there was no way to contact the – and here, the words annoyed Chiron enough for him to threaten Travis and Connor with soap and a washcloth in their mouth – Hunters until they came, which could take days, or weeks.

Rachel had smiled impishly, and pointed out the window to show the Hunters already making their way past the borders.

So now, after a lesson on just how much trust should be put into the Oracle's insight and the Stoll brothers swearing on the Styx to come to her during betting times, Rachel was standing in front of the amphitheater, reciting the prophecy and explaining her dreams, occasionally pausing to ask the Hunters to stop trying to kill the Aphrodite Cabin.

"Any questions?"

About fifty hands went up.

"Butch."

The son of Iris stood, looking grave and threatening in the shadowy flickers of the colour-changing campfire. From the way it grew, people were interested. "Are you going?"

"Yes," Rachel answered instantly, and half the hands went down. "Seeing as I'm the only mortal available at the moment, I think that puts me in by default."

No dissatisfaction came from the campers and Hunters alike. Rachel guessed that they didn't have anything against her going. "Miranda?"

"So what kind of dreams do you have to have to go?" she sounded nervous. The giggles coming from under the pink banner with the dove probably did not help her at all.

"Identical ones. Anyone with odd dreams come and tell Chiron or me at once. Thanks for pointing that out, Miranda," Rachel sent an extra warm smile, trying to reassure her. The daughter of Demeter sat down, looking more at ease than before.

"Anyone else?" it seemed those two were the main ones. Spotting another one near the back, Rachel squinted until she recognized the mop of black hair. "Nico."

"What could be the woman that sleeps? Or the Earth?"

Almost instinctively, everyone turned to Chiron, who only shrugged, lifting his shoulders lightly and dropping them. They turned the look on Rachel, but she noticed Annabeth shooting a longer, sharper look towards the centaur, as if he was hiding something.

Maybe he did know more than he showed, but it wasn't too good to know too much on prophecies. "Anyone else?"

No hands. Seeing this, Chiron cleared his throat. "Then let's get the s'mores, and then off to bed!"

The prospect of melting marshmallows distracted the demigods long enough for Rachel to sneak away to Chiron, just in time to see Annabeth get there. "You know something," they hissed in unison.

Chiron smiled, but it was more of a grimace filled with apologies and regret. "Not enough, I fear," he whispered. "It may be something ancient, but if I am correct, well then," he looked tired. "The world may never quite be the same."

"Thank you, Captain Sunshine," Annabeth muttered. "But what could be so large enough, even more than the Titans-!" her gray eyes widened, and Rachel knew Annabeth remembered a fact, a myth, her history and ancestry. "The Earth! You mean-"

"Later, child, later," Chiron interrupted hastily. But Rachel had already pieced together the basic knowledge of Greek Mythology, and traced the pointing fingers to one of the primordial beings. "When no ears are eavesdropping."

"Hey!" Rachel felt indignant. "I'm not eavesdropping! I'm right here, and I have just as much as a right to know!"

"You do," Annabeth agreed. "But a certain guy in the shadows doesn't. Do you, Nico?" she emphasized that last part whirling around and facing the shadows beneath the amphitheater.

A sheepish son of Hades manifested out of the shadows. "For the record, I had a good idea of who it might have been," Nico tried to defend himself.

"Oh yeah? Then who was it, smart guy?"

"I'm not stupid! It's probably Ga-"

"Later, heroes, later! Go eat s'mores, and stay silent!"

All three turned with open mouths to argue, but seeing just how frazzled Chiron looked, they decided to shut their mouths and go toast marshmallows.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Pain, and the dimmest light.

"Nngh…" was that sound from his lips, or someone else? Was this even real, or nothing but the foretelling dreams of demigods?

"…hey."

A different voice. He didn't recognize it.

"Hey."

It was getting louder, heard more clearly.

"Wake up, it's been two hours."

Two hours…? Two hours since what?

Jason's mind felt like it had been struck by lightning abruptly. Camp. The giant man. Reyna. His friends. The blacking out.

His eyes flew open, and seeing a blurry figure, he lashed out instinctively with his fists.

"Whoa!" the figure moved back, and he missed narrowly. "Easy there!"

But Jason didn't go 'easy'. He was a Roman, who didn't show weakness or friendliness to any potential enemies. His hands plunged into his pocket, trying to grasp _Ivlivs_ –

Only to find his pocket empty. The enchanted Imperial Gold weapon was no longer there. His eyes widened in surprise, and then he remembered dropping it while caught. No, but the magic should have ensured its return back to him. What, then, had happened?

"Are you looking for that?" the voice was slightly impatient. Jason finally looked up to see a girl (who was, a part of him noted distractedly, rather pretty) of Native descent around his age with choppy braided hair and narrowed eyes. She was leaning against – and here, Jason finally looked around – golden bars that stretched up to form a fancy, extra large birdcage hanging from some iron poles attached to a huge clocktower.

He followed her pointing finger, to see his weapon in sword form displayed just out of his arm's reach on a pedestal – a _freaking_ fancy _pedestal_ carved out of white marble and tipped with gold – sitting on the ledge of the clock, wide enough to be a walkway.

"While you were unconscious, this huge guy brought you in, flipped you upside down and shook a coin out of your pocket, and then flipped it into that sword," the girl explained, still keeping her distance. Jason appreciated that. "And then this woman came, and they argued in something that sounded like Latin. He put it there after he lost, I think."

"Latin?" Jason tried to reach through the bars. It was there. _Right_ there, just past his fingertips, and he couldn't get it, couldn't use it to fight his way out like a true Roman. His father would be disappointed. Either that, or angry and ashamed of him enough to blast him into a million Jason-smithereens. Probably the latter. "Do you remember exactly what they said?"

"No. They spoke really fast," she rubbed her hands on her jeans. "But one of them kept on saying 'Acedia'. Do you know what that means?"

"'Sloth'," Jason translated immediately, the hardwired Latin within his brain giving the direct meaning. "It means sloth."

Out of the corner of his eyes, the girl paled drastically. "Sloth? Like the monkey thing?" her voice rose slightly.

"Um, no, like the laziness." Did this girl have a phobia of monkeys?

"But it's the same word, right?" she crawled forward towards him, just a little, blue eyes shining in worry.

"I think so," he edged a bit back, a little uncomfortable by her presence. There was just something about her that felt so… _alarming_.

Luckily, she noticed his discomfort. "Sorry," she apologized, moving back. "But that word has been used far too much near me recently."

Jason couldn't really relate, but he nodded sympathetically, all the while wishing this, whatever it was, was over with.

"Anyways," she sighed, brushing stray strands of hair out of her eyes. "I'm Piper. Piper McLean."

"Like the actor?" he asked, remembering that movie on Sparta. He and Bobby had laughed watching the overdramatic fight scenes, but they had admitted to envying the actor for looking so cool and ripped, something both boys slightly failed at.

She winced slightly. "He's my dad."

"Ah," famous dad. _That_, he could relate to. "Jason Grace, Prae- no, just Jason Grace."

Piper looked at him curiously, but he wasn't going to tell her he was a Praetor to New Rome. For all he knew, she was mortal.

A mortal somehow dragged into all this. She'd be lucky if she could ever live through life happily.

"Alright, then, Jason Grace," she leaned back against the hard golden bars again, closing her eyes. "Why are you here?"

"Believe me, I didn't want to be here," Jason promised, studying the golden bars. Gold, normal gold that wasn't Imperial, was pretty soft. Could it be bent?

Piper opened one green eye in annoyance, and he almost did a double take. Hadn't it been blue? "I know _that_," she said with slight irritation. "Or you wouldn't be _in_ this cage."

If it wasn't Reyna telling him he had his head in the clouds, it was Gwen laughing at him, and now there was a new one added to the list of girls who made him feel stupid. Great. "Oh. A guy knocked me out while I was defending camp."

"Defending camp?" Jason nearly hit himself, and mentally cursed his stupidity. "So you guys were awake?" there was some kind of an edge to her voice.

But she brought up something within his mind. Awake. Their scouts had reported every mortal to be asleep. Only demigods, legacies and monsters had been awake, which meant Piper was one of them.

Or a monster.

Jason frowned, and squinted, trying with all his might to see through any potential Mist. Seconds turned into moments, and would have turned into a minute if he hadn't blinked. No, she was still the same. Which meant that she was a demigod.

Now, how do you properly phrase the question, "is your mother a Roman god" without sounding like someone belonging in a mental asylum?

"Do you have any other family members?" seeing her expression, he hastily dug in his head for a plausible excuse. "Because I heard that Tristan McLean wasn't married, so I was curious."

"No mom, and I'm the only child," her voice was clipped. "She left dad when I was born, apparently."

In normal circumstances, that would have just been the very beginning of thinking she was a demigod. In circumstances like this, Jason figured she was. Nothing else really fit.

"Hey, Piper, just how much do you know about Greek and Roman Mythology?"

* * *

AN-I have to go somewhere for a week... where I cannot get on the Internet... so this is the last update for a while, I'm sorry to say.

Announcements! I finally found a way to incorporate the Sins into Rick's general Western-Civilization-and-how-Humans-picture-things-makes-all-the-difference idea! Hint: It involves MOTHY's works (Evillious. Look it up.), Dante's Divine Comedy (only little parts) and other things. Mostly MOTHY, cuz I just love him so much.

Reviews are appreciated.


	10. Tale of Sloth I

_Once, a long time ago, a lord ruled over his land, and grew rich from the profits made by his serfs and tenants. In the riches and luxury, he became lazy, not wanting to do anything except sleep, dream, or vent his fleshly desires with the village women. No one could ever say no to him, the king of the small kingdom. He was a tyrant, sitting on his throne of cushions and fur, ordering servants around and making unfair, ridiculous laws._

_By the definition of the Sins, he was a Sinner. And Sinners needed to be met with, didn't they? Especially if they had something all seven wanted._

_The lord found, one night, a little girl in his chambers, smiling at him with those damn unnatural teal eyes. The little girl, not more than ten-years old, offered him several options in that grown-up, adult voice, much deeper and seductive than it should have been._

_She offered him a wish. Anything he wanted, as long as it was one wish, would be granted._

_A good man would have demanded her tied and burned at the stake. He wasn't a good man, simply a weak one. Filled with greed, he wracked his head for the best thing to request. What would be the most satisfying choice? What would give him immortality, powers, magic, riches, respect, and everything he ever wanted?_

_The tired Sin smiled as she watched him, the man so guilty of all seven, and offered him a life of eternity, where he would have magic coursing through his veins, giving him the ability to do whatever he wanted, almost like a god._

_Blinded by his want, he agreed. The price was something ridiculously cheap, merely an heirloom from the proud family line. A battered sword, the only thing somewhat unique about it being the shards of colourful crystals embedded in the handle. And even then, the shards were almost nonexistent, so fragile and small were they._

_It would be the best bargain he ever made in his life._

_The blade exchanged hands, and immediately, the lord let out a cry, falling to the ground in pain as his body shuddered and stretched, changing from a plump, spoiled human body to something scaly and gigantic._

_A dragon._

_The village was filled with screams as the snake-like monster rampaged, killing and maiming, until a hero came along and slew the beast, dispelling it for a while. _

_In the mess of the smashed manor and the chaotic village, the discarded sword, no longer holding those pretty, tiny shards of crystals, was ignored and buried in the rubble._

_And the Sins rejoiced, one step closer to the completion of their recovery._

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"That's a sad story, mum," the boy mumbled, pulling the cloth around himself tighter. The cold wind seemed to cut right through the thin piece of clothing today for the poor boy.

Next to him, the lady nodded thoughtfully. "It is, I suppose," she sighed. It was quite an odd sight, where a finely dressed lady sat on the dirty blocks of stone under the bridge, next to a dirty street urchin, yet no one stared. It was almost as if they were invisible.

"I mean, no one got a happy ending 'cept for those Sins," he continued on, fingering something inside his pocket. "And they don't sound like good people, if you'll pardon me."

"I hardly believe they _are_ people, young James."

"Please, mum, me name's Jim."

"Alright, Jim," the lady turned to face him properly for the first time, and he shivered. Her eyes were an unnatural shade, with them being the pretty color of blue and green mixed together, but they were undeniably cruel towards him at the moment. "Have you given any further thought about my offer?"

Jim rubbed his paling hands together, trying to get them warm. Was it him, or was the wind getting fiercer? No one else seemed affected around here, though. "Well, mum, twenty pounds seem like a mighty amount to pay for a worthless piece of cracked rock," he began. "'Fact, I'm not even sure how you knew it was in me hands! But still, if yer willing to pay that much, then maybe someone else will pay more."

"I see," was her only reply.

"So I hope you'll understand, mum, but a boy's gotta survive these streets somehow, and mayhaps, this little sparkler could get me a new life."

The lady sighed. "What a shame."

"Sorry, mum," he began, but she continued.

"And for once, I was hoping to solve this issue without any bloodshed."

Jim backed up, slightly at unease. "Um, mum?"

Outside of the magic circle invisible to Jim's eyes, no one saw anything. None of fellow street urchins, hurrying servants, or passersby noticed the suddenly headless boy, or the lady in rich furs removing a teal crystal the size of a small button from his patched-up coat.

From her own pocket, a similar crystal of the same size was produced, and the two were put in the same gloved hand before she closed her fingers around the matching set.

Something in the air shifted in London, and when she opened her hand, there was half an orb made of the same crystal, as if a mischievous boy had cracked his glass marble into two.

The gods would have been fools to not notice the shift, but thanks to the nature of this Sin, they were soon overwhelmed by the booming period in time that would be known as 'the Industrial Revolution', where humanity began to invent and prosper, letting machines do their work for them. The inventors grew rich off their ingenious inventions, and textiles, agriculture, science, all flourished, except for the labourers at the bottom of the ladder.

The corrupt system would be kept for some time, and while humanity continued to sin, the masterminds behind it all laughed.

* * *

Review and tell me what you think of my chapter names.


	11. Invasion of Dreams

In this chapter, the time limit and reason for urgency is given by Sloth, four need to go on a quest, Rachel gets a new pet, and Ten-Faced says that she doesn't own anything.

* * *

Dream-Rachel's dream-stomach turned at seeing the familiar misty green tunnels. "Oh, gods, I'm going to throw up again," she muttered, making a mental note for the mad dash to the toilet when this was all over, and she was awake.

"Not this time, Lady Rachel," promised a somewhat familiar alto voice.

Rachel blinked, and in that slight moment, the dark tunnel was exchanged for a pleasant, sunny tearoom. She looked down, and grimaced at the frilly dress she was in. "Aquamarine isn't my colour," she remarked, picking at the heavy skirts that had been in fashion back when Marie Antoinette pranced around, remarking at starving people to eat cake.

"No, it's not," agreed the voice. Rachel looked up, and frowned. Sitting across from the table set with a feast in tea cakes and finger food was a gorgeous black haired girl, around her age, dressed in a similar dress of a teal shade that matched her half-lidded eyes. Black hair tied with matching teal ribbons fell loosely in two separate waves around her pretty face down to her waist, and to finish off whatever image of a perfect lady she was going for, she had a black cat napping on her lap.

She lifted one pale hand and snapped her fingers, shifting the colours on Rachel's dress to match her green eyes.

"Better," she sniffed. Rachel decided to not tell the girl of her hatred of dresses.

Instead, she asked the obvious question. "Who are you?"

Her hostess sipped from a blue teacup, petting her cat's head lazily. "Who am I," she mused, tipping her head to one side. "That's a hard question to answer at the moment. You must answer my inquiry first, Lady Rachel, if you desire a satisfactory answer."

Rachel didn't think that was a fair deal at all, but something told her (she would have bet all of her father's land and money on the culprit being the Spirit of Delphi) that this girl wouldn't take no for an answer. "Then ask."

A slender finger caught a glossy lock set aside from the main bunch, and began to twirl the ebony strands absent-mindedly. "If one was, hypothetically, in a world where all were asleep, everyone in the world except them and a few other people," the teal eyes burned at her, relaying a completely different story to Rachel than the one she was telling. "And was told that unless they freed a trapped one, everyone sleeping would be dead within three days, what would one do? Hypothetically, of course."

Rachel kept her face blank, courtesy of Clarion Academy's skills at teaching the perfect poker face, but her heart was pounding furiously. This was no 'hypothetic' moral-gauging crap-stories the psychology teacher at Clarion's (who was _literarily_ a monster) fed her. This girl was telling her what would happen, and telling her what to do.

As much as she appreciated the warning, Rachel hated it. This girl had tied the cause of whatever needed to be freed to the cause of the kind-hearted, ridiculously heroic demigods like Percy. Knowing that seaweed-headed son of Poseidon, Percy would leap right in and free that ominous 'one' without even thinking of the consequences.

"Your answer, Lady Rachel?"

On one hand, all the pollution caused by mortals would somewhat stop, right? And corporate bigheads like her father wouldn't be able to screw things over and over just for the sake of money.

On the other hand… there were people like Sally. Percy's mother had been like her mother, the mother she never really had. Was it right to let the kind-hearted woman just _die_?

Rachel swallowed back the bitterness in her throat. "I'd say…one would have to free the trapped one, _but_!" she hastily added, seeing how the girl had begun to open her mouth. "_But_, _only_ if they knew for sure, were absolutely _positive_ that freeing the caged whatever would make everyone in the world wake up."

"Oh, don't worry, Lady Rachel," she smiled. "Freeing me will definitely save the world from dying in their sleep."

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"You?" Rachel blinked. That had been unexpected. This girl did not look like someone in need of rescue. Well, her dress seemed like a nightmare, with an actual corset, but Rachel doubted that was what she needed freeing from.

"Me," she nodded. "I should fulfil my end of the bargain now, shouldn't I? My name is Sloth."

Rachel had forgotten about their agreement. "Like the animal?"

Sloth rolled her eyes. "Yes, like that tree-hugging animal."

"What's wrong with hugging trees?" Ever since witnessing Pan fading away in the Labyrinth, Rachel had become more sensitive to the environment. Being the Oracle for a camp filled with environmentally friendly people helped a lot, too.

Sloth nodded slowly, taking on a sagely expression. "When people name an ugly animal after you, you will understand."

"Yeah, because there's totally going to be a discovery of a new species that'll be named 'Rachel'," the redhead said before biting her tongue, all the while wondering just what was wrong with her. She'd thrown and hit the Titan Lord's _eye_ with a blue plastic _hairbrush_ when she was _fourteen_, for the gods' sake! Why was she afraid of a teenage girl?

Granted, Sloth did have a cat in her lap like a super-villain and a funny name, but that couldn't have been it.

Luckily, Sloth seemed to take her sarcastic comment seriously. "Yes, that might not happen after all," she muttered, talking more to the cat than to Rachel. "So I suppose you'll never know."

"Heartbreaking," Rachel muttered.

"Precisely, Lady Rachel. Now, to make sure the world doesn't die in their sleep, you and three other demigods need to go and talk to my brother. He'll be waiting for you outside of camp when you wake up. You can't mistake him; he's the good-looking man with purple eyes."

"Are you issuing the quest?"

"I gave you the prophecy, Oracle, now just get me out of this place!"

Rachel looked around. "It's a pretty nice place, you know."

"I'm putting an illusion so you don't actually see anything. If you saw the reality of this place, you would hardly think that."

"Try me."

The nice tearoom and everything else vanished, instead replaced with a small black room surrounded with shifting shadows, screams, and howls of pain and agony. Bursts of fire and steaming water struck the walls, occasionally hitting Sloth, making her flinch.

And all around, there was an aura of dread, of an irrational fear that made Rachel want to curl up into a ball.

"What is this place?"

Her surroundings changed back to the sunny room. Everything was back as it had been, except a much more tired-looking Sloth. "That was my prison."

Clearly, she didn't want to talk about it. Rachel went back to the topic. "So we go to your brother for help? What's his name, Monkey?"

Teal eyes glared at her, burning with indignant offense. "His name is Lust! Monkey, indeed!" she huffed. "Tell that to him, and he'll probably hit you with lighting."

Rachel slumped back in her chair, ignoring the stiffness of her dress. "This is like a badly-written action novel," she complained.

"I was a professor in the University of Alaska when I was captured. Believe me, it gets worse," Sloth promised. "And in case the demigods I chose don't get the dream, your quest members are Percy Jackson-"

"Him, I can handle."

"Leo Valdez,"

Rachel guessed he was the new Hephaestus kid that had been really depressed.

"And Nico Di Angelo. Objections?"

Nico? Well, she guessed it was fine. "No."

"Good. Remember, purple-eyed man. _Don't_ keep my brother waiting!" Sloth lifted her cat. "And take Acedia with you."

The cat stared at her with the same teal eyes as its master. Rachel stared back. "I am not taking a cat with me."

"Lady Rachel, Acedia is no ordinary cat. Take her," Sloth thrust 'Acedia' a bit more closely to Rachel's face.

Reluctantly, Rachel grabbed the cat by the scuff of her neck and set her next to her chair. "So go to the purple eyed man?"

"The _good-looking_ purple eyed man," Sloth corrected.

"How many purple eyed men are there?" but before she got her answer, Rachel found herself awake, with the same teal cat eyes staring down at her. The heavy weight on her chest told her that the mangy thing was sitting on her.

"Get off me," she ordered the cat, and while the feline slunk off, Rachel rolled out of bed, and slipped on her sneakers.

Time to go and wake up some demigods.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

After eating gooey marshmallows, kissing Annabeth goodnight and jogging over to his cabin with a stupid grin on his face, Percy all but collapsed into his bed.

And then found himself squashed by two heavy, uneven objects that had fallen out of the sky.

"Oomph!" he let out, the air pushed out of his lungs. He couldn't be squished to death, courtesy of the Curse of Achilles, but it was still an uncomfortable feeling, having two people fall on top of you.

One of them swore in what sounded like Spanish, while the other one yelped out loud, and really high-pitched. "What the-?" Percy winced at the high sound near his ear.

And that yelping voice was rather familiar. "Nico?" Percy grunted, trying to turn and drop off the two people on top of him, randomly in his cabin.

Only, when he looked around, it wasn't quite his cabin. Instead, it was a black-walled room where a girl around his age sat at the other end, face hidden by a curtain of ebony hair as she slumped forwards, looking at her manacled wrists with concealed eyes.

The load on Percy's back lightened by half as one of the Percy-squishers got off of him. Through the dim light, he recognized the new Hephaestus kid, Leo Valdez.

"Hey, lady?" the curly-haired Latino walked up cautiously, and poked her on her black-garbed shoulder. "Um, you awake? Or, you know, alive?"

Percy let out a small sigh of relief as Nico (_finally_!) got off of his back. "I'm pretty sure she's not dead."

"I can't die," an annoyed voice muttered, and all three jumped. That voice had been clearly female, despite being in the lower ranges. Percy turned to the girl, who was staring back at them with tired aquamarine eyes.

"Welcome to my humble prison," she smiled sarcastically, although it seemed to have a lesser effect, due to her sleepiness.

Nico glanced around. "Reminds me of pictures dad took of a section in Tartarus."

She shrugged. "I hear it was modelled off there."

Percy studied the girl. Pale, with weird blue-green eyes, the girl was seriously pretty, with delicate features and contrasting black hair surrounding everything. Something about her seemed kind of tired, and a bit forbidden.

"Lord Nico?" the girl shook her manacled wrists to his directions. "Do you know where your sister is?"

The son of Poseidon backed away slowly, recognizing a topic that shouldn't be discussed around his 'cousin'.

"In Elysium," Nico replied, tone clipped. "Where she will stay."

"She's alive," the girl corrected. "And trapped, like me. Lord Leo?"

The Latino looked like he really didn't want to hear what the girl was going to say. "Oh, um, as much as I like the sound of this whole 'Lord Leo' thing, I'd rather not hear about thought-to-be-dead people-"

"Your friend Piper is alive, and trapped, like me," she interrupted, and he froze, mouth gaping open. Dimly, Percy recalled that 'Piper' was the girl he and Annabeth had failed to rescue along with Leo, and guilt clenched his heart. "Lord Percy?"

Percy tried to swallow, but suddenly, his throat was dry and constrictive. "Yes?" he croaked out.

Something akin to pity was in her teal eyes. "Your mother will die in three days if you do not free me," she gestured at the other two. "If all of you do not free me, all mortals will die within three days.

"Free me," she sighed, as if the wind had left her. She slumped down, closing her eyes. "The Oracle will lead you. Just… just free me, or far worse will happen."

Percy blinked, and found himself staring at the top of his bunk. His mom. The world dying in their sleep. Three days. Oracle. Bianca. _His mom_.

A blood-curdling scream echoed across camp.

* * *

Next Chapter!

A new Sin debuts with his electric charms, the reason for that fantastic scream is given, and Olympus is shocked, as the mystery vandal strikes again. Stay tuned!


	12. The Attractive Man

Percy fell off his bed at the scream. It was high-pitched, and terrified with shock, but he recognized that voice.

Rachel. Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the girl who had looked down at the Titan Lord of Time and pretty much all things evil and hit his eye with a hairbrush. The girl who had flown into New York during the heat of battle just to tell him that he wasn't the hero. The girl who had accepted the Spirit of Delphi, knowing she was risking getting cursed for the rest of her life. The girl who he had always considered to be fearless, and she had screamed.

Percy tore out of his cabin, Riptide uncapped in his hands as he ran barefoot down to the location of the shriek. Rachel had stopped screaming, but he guessed that she was at the amphitheatre, and headed towards the clearing.

Seeing a slight bit of familiar red in the darkness, Percy charged there, glowing bronze sword illuminating his way, and yanked Rachel back from possible harm. "What's the matter?" he demanded, but the bravery fell away when he saw what was going on.

Into the extinguished, empty fire pit, two people were holding their bleeding wrists over the ashes of past campfires. From the size of the pool of blood, Percy guessed that the lifeblood had been flowing out of them for some time now.

One of them was a son of Hypnos, and although Percy couldn't remember his name, he knew that this guy wasn't emo, or suicidal, or anything like that.

The other person was Thalia.

Rachel recovered first. "Help!" she yelled, jumping forward to stop the two. "Medic! Healers! Apollo people! Get over here! Hurt demigods!"

At her yelling, Percy snapped out of it. Using Riptide, he cut off the legs of his sweatpants and offered them to Rachel, who wrapped them around the wrists of the silent duo. "Thalia," Rachel gently shook the Hunter. "Thalia?"

Percy noticed her eyes. Her blue eyes, normally full of determination and life, were glazed over, and she seemed lifeless. And that very image was wrong, not at all what Thalia Grace was.

A few people hurried over, and he could hear hooves thundering on the ground as Chiron made his way over. Will Solace took over, muttering and poking the two, pulling away the knives in their hand. He and Rachel had missed those. "Clovis? Clovis!"

Oh, right. Clovis. _That_ was his name.

"What's going on here?" Chiron's voice was right behind him. Both Percy and Rachel turned to face the wise centaur, who looked rather concerned.

"They were cutting themselves, and letting the blood go into the fire pit," Rachel said quietly, seeming distracted. "It was almost like they were-"

"Chiron!" she was cut off by Will. Percy turned to see the son of Apollo straining to support the two suddenly unconscious demigods. "They need help, _now_!"

Not wasting time, Chiron picked them up and laid them across his horse-half. "I'll see you two at the infirmary, then," he said gravely, and took off, careful to not jostle them off. Will ran after him, stumbling over his sun-patterned pants every now and then in the dark.

"Did you get the dream?" Rachel's voice was still quiet.

Percy ran a hand through his hair, probably messing it up even more. "Yeah."

"Blood," Rachel examined the pit. "Why them?"

"Far as I know, they have nothing in common," He shrugged, and began to make his way to the Big House. "Come on. We shouldn't keep them waiting."

Rachel jerked. "Gah! I forgot!" and she began to run… in the opposite direction, towards the cabins.

"Where are you going?!" he shouted after her, wondering if their Oracle had gone mad.

"Getting our quest members!" She turned to yell back, and nearly tripped over a black cat.

"But what about the blood?!"

The reply was given by someone else. "Stop shouting! People are trying to sleep here!"

By then, Rachel was already out of sight.

Giving one last look to the pool of blood, Percy jogged over to the Big House, hoping that his friend and camp-mate was alright.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"They'll be fine…" Will poked Clovis under his chin. "After a drink of nectar. But they're kind of dopey, like they're high."

Percy blinked. "So they're doing drugs?"

Will shot an exasperated glance towards him with tired eyes. "No, I'm saying there might be an outside influence that's confusing them."

"Someone's been _giving_ them drugs?"

The son of Apollo ignored him, instead choosing to pour a bit of nectar into the mouths of the unconscious demigods. Chiron, in his magic wheelchair, scratched his head and coughed.

Percy leaned back into his seat, tired, and shut his eyes. A relatively peaceful and quiet atmosphere at two in the morning.

Before it was shattered by the door slamming open, anyways. Percy jumped, Riptide uncapped in his hands as he faced the doorway, but relaxed when he saw who it was.

Rachel stormed in, followed by a half-conscious Leo, an annoyed Nico and a freaked out Argus. The redhead made a beeline to Percy, shoving a backpack into his hands. "Nectar, ambrosia, and extra clothes," she informed him. "We're leaving on that quest soon."

Chiron raised an eyebrow at the Oracle. "Quest?"

While Rachel explained, Percy looked at the other demigods. Leo was dozing off, nearly asleep against the wall, while Nico glared at nothing in particular. Ah, what the girl had said about his sister.

"So apparently, we need to save the girl named Sloth," Rachel finished.

Chiron nodded, and turned to the freaked-out Argus. "Yes?"

The hundred-eyed man locked his 'normal' two eyes with Chiron's for a moment. Something passed between the two in the silence.

The centaur looked away first. "And you were to meet a man outside of camp?" he questioned Rachel, who nodded in confirmation. "Well, according to Argus, he's waiting for you outside the borders."

Percy slung the bag over his shoulders and shook Leo awake. "Huh- what?" the son of Hephaestus spluttered.

He sent a pleading look to the teacher. "Chiron," he begged. "I can't let my mom – she's the only one who – I can't lose her again."

It was a lame finish. What kind of hero broke down for his mommy? But Chiron nodded in understanding. "Go, heroes," his voice was solemn, and honouring. "And good luck."

For once, Chiron was the more optimistic one. The quest members trooped out of the infirmary, following Argus to meet the purple-eyed man.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Walking out of the door, Rachel let herself fall back from the leading Percy and Nico, choosing to hang around the lagging Leo Valdez. He looked pretty shell-shocked, although she couldn't really blame him for that.

"Congrats," Rachel patted Leo's back in an attempt to be friendlier. "Your first quest, so soon."

Leo looked up, and Rachel felt a jolt of unknown shock go through her. Something about him was different. Special. "I don't feel lucky," he muttered, dragging his feet.

"No sane demigod ever really does," Rachel admitted as they made their way to Thalia's Pine and Peleus the insomniac dragon. "But I suppose you all get used to it; it's in your blood."

Leo looked at her, puzzled. "You're not a demigod?"

Rachel laughed. "Nope. Mortal, one hundred percent. But I do host the Spirit of Delphi within me, so that makes me somewhat special, I guess."

Ahead, both Percy and Nico snorted as they slowed down near Peleus. Rachel picked up her pace, but slowed down immediately when she saw Leo wasn't doing the same. "What's wrong?"

"I have no weapons," he deadpanned.

"They didn't give you any?" Rachel demanded. That was a stupid thing to do, to not arm a person with monster-attractive scent. Heck, even _she_ had two Celestial Bronze daggers!

"No."

"We'll get you a sword or something later," Rachel promised as they finally caught up with Percy and Nico. "But for…"

She didn't get to finish her sentence. Right behind the property line, a gorgeous man around twenty was smiling. Right at her.

Damn. Rachel flushed, noticing the pleasant smile on his face, how his well-built dancer's body, visible even through the dress shirt and vest he sported, looked so warm and inviting, how his windswept, medium-length hair was a brown so dark it could be black, how alluring his purple eyes alone were-

Purple eyes.

Something within Rachel tugged her out of her daydreams long enough to make her remember that she was supposed to meet with the good-looking man with purple eyes. If that was what Sloth called 'good-looking', Rachel wanted to meet 'drop-dead gorgeous'.

"Um, h-hi," she stammered, flustered. "A-are you Lust?" If he was, that was the most apt name ever given. She was having a hard time keeping her mind out of the gutter, and she was supposed to stay a maiden for eternity!

"That I am," he murmured. Everything just got harder for Rachel. Her teenage hormones had been crazy at the _sight_ of him, but his voice could have made _Apollo_ jealous. It was, by far, the sexiest thing she had heard, seduction under every syllable he pronounced with that low, purring voice.

And also familiar. His voice had been the first one in her Pandora dream, promising her true pleasure.

Rachel decided to look pointedly at the least hormone-turning on person, which happened to be a grumpy Nico. "So you're Sloth's brother?"

"Correct," she could almost hear that sexy smile in his voice, which should have been impossible. Focus on Nico, focus on Nico…

As if he could have heard her thoughts, the son of Hades shot her an odd look. She smiled weakly in response.

"Normally," the impossibly attractive man continued. "I would not interfere where I believed I had no connections. However, my sister sent me an urgent plea for assistance, and for my favorite sibling, I would do as much as I can for her well-being. I take it you are aware of her plight?"

Her tongue felt clumsy and heavy, and Rachel found herself flushing for no reason at all as she tried to control her rampant imagination going into dirty places. Fortunately, Percy took over. "If we don't free her, everyone dies?" he guessed.

Rachel risked a glance, and saw a frown on his face. Of course, Lust just _had_ to look extremely sexy while looking mildly inconvenienced, too. "So you were only given the basics… Well, her situation could barely allow her to give you a more detailed explanation, I suppose."

Lust turned around and began to walk down the hill. "We'll talk in my car."

All of the demigods – and Argus – turned to face her, waiting expectantly. Rachel realized, with mixed pride and shock, that she was supposed to lead this party.

She tightened her grip on her bag. "Let's go," she began to follow, only to nearly trip over something. Cold hands steadied her as she stumbled. "Thanks, Nico."

Teal eyes glared at her from the ground, and Rachel remembered Acedia. "You coming, cat?"

Eerily, she nodded, and streaked after where Lust had gone.

"Crazy cat," Rachel heard Leo mutter as he shuffled forward. She couldn't help but agree with him.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

The mood on Olympus was tense and grim. Hestia quietly stirred her hearth as the rest of the Olympians – Hades included – grumbled and complained.

The vandal had struck again. This time, it had been the throne room, the seat of the Olympic Parthenon's power that had suffered. Thrones were splashed with acidic, venomous Hydra blood that would have hurt even the oldest of deities, and had suffered damage, seats torn out; their backs smashed, and in the case of Dionysus and Demeter's plant-based thrones, were partly burnt.

The very focus of Olympian power had been attacked, and no one knew who the culprit was.

Obviously, everyone was angry. Zeus was clenching and unclenching his fists, lightning flickering and thunder booming every five seconds or so, and his expression could have killed. "From now on," he gritted out. "At least one God will stay and guard the throne room."

No one objected. Destroying parts of Olympus had been bad enough. Hurting the thrones? That was the same as attacking the gods themselves. And, indeed, the gods had suffered from this strike. All of them were weakened. Not by much, but definitely weakened, something they really couldn't afford at the moment with the unknown foe.

Godlings and nymphs quietly gathered the fragments of the thrones thrown around, and cleaned up the room while the gods repaired their seats, the blood carefully disposed of. If the foe could attack the thrones, they could obliterate _them_ easily.

Everyone could feel it; something big was coming, and chances were, it wouldn't be a good thing.

* * *

**IMPORTANT!** - I keep on forgetting to tell you people... any questions, or if you want to just play along in a semi-roleplay, go to my profile and check out my forum, 'Ask the Sins!', where you can ask/talk to/meet the Sins. The link should be there.

Next time, in Realm of Sloth... Piper learns about Roman Demigods, Leo gets one of Rachel's daggers, and apparently, Acedia's brother, Luxuria, can turn into a car.


	13. The Car that was a Wolf

PJO and all characters, settings, ideas that aren't mine = Rick Riordan  
magnet, and the utaite singing it = minato(Tolie), usa, Yamai.  
Vocaloid = Crypton, , Yamaha, and other companies.

Own nothing.

* * *

"So…." Piper tugged at one of her choppy braids, a distracted look on her face. "The Greek and Roman gods are real."

Jason held back a smile. Ah, the usual questions from the new recruits back at Camp Jupiter. Mostly Fifth Cohort kids. "Partly. See, the Greek gods had their forms first, but when Rome defeated Greece, the Greek forms faded away forever, and were replaced with the Roman counterparts."

"But they still went around having kids like in the old Greek myths?" she guessed, still looking distracted.

"Well, yes," Jason admitted. "But their personalities changed. While the Greek forms had been more relaxed and – I suppose the word would be 'playful' – the Roman parts were strict. Warlike. Disciplined."

"So when one of the _anemoi thuellai_ told me I was a daughter of Aphrodite," she began.

"It actually meant that you were a daughter of Venus," Jason finished. "Oh, and the Roman names for the storm spirits are _venti_."

"Leo would call them evil coffee things," she grumbled, closing her eyes. Jason didn't blame her. He would have felt the same after a knowledge overboard. He'd been doing this since he had been two, so it was easier for him, but for nearly full-grown teens…

"Who's Leo?" he couldn't help but ask. "Your boyfriend?"

Jason received an odd look from Piper. "He's just a friend."

Just a friend. Pretty much the same words Reyna used to describe him, minus the 'cloud-headed idiot who goes around trying to get himself killed on a daily basis'. Jason felt kind of sorry for this 'Leo'. Rejected by a rather pretty-

He mentally hit himself and tried to think of how to make formations to distract himself.

Maybe it was her Venus-powers, but Piper seemed to notice the awkwardness, despite his Roman poker face still on. "So whose son are you?"

"Jupiter."

Jason gave Piper credit; she didn't start fawning over him, or eyeing him warily. There were advantages of meeting someone when they didn't quite know the importance of being a child of a Big Three. Instead, she just scrunched her forehead in thought. "Ah, so… Zeus?"

"Yeah. You really know Greek Mythology, don't you?"

She rested her chin on her knees, eyes half-closed in thought. "My dad and I did some research when he was doing that movie on Sparta."

Oh, right. Tristan McLean. Famous dad. It must have been uncomfortable for her, too.

Maybe it was their similarities, or maybe it was just the weird situation they were in, but Jason felt a lot more at ease with her now. He briefly wondered, thinking back to when he had just woken up, what had made him so alarmed against her.

Jason dismissed it, guessing it had just been paranoia from being knocked out.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"So," Rachel jumped as Lust practically materialized next to her. "Acedia is following you, I see."

As if answering the impossibly handsome man, the cat purred.

"Yeah, Sloth told me to take her," Rachel answered, keeping her eyes focused dead ahead, all the while constantly reminding herself of the meaning behind the words 'Virginal Vessel of the Spirit of Delphi.' She was failing rather miserably.

"Well, it must have taken a lot out of her, summoning Acedia to go to you when she's imprisoned," Lust noted, examining his nails.

Rachel didn't really understand, but nodded.

They stopped at the road, and everyone looked expectantly at Lust. "Where's your car?" Nico asked.

Instead of answering, Lust put his hands – clearly strong, with slender fingers – around his mouth and let out a howl, like a wolf. It wasn't any of those fake-sounding ones the trashy boys made when they saw the Clarion girls; it was actually extremely realistic, and sent a chill down her spine.

Somewhere, another howl answered back, and a huge streak of grey shot out of the bushes on the opposite side.

Rachel heard Nico and Percy swear as they drew their blades, and Leo saying something in a mix of rapid Spanish and English, but she just stood there, frozen.

That is, before Lust crouched down and pet the thing. Now that it was still, Rachel could see it was a wolf, and a rather big one, too. Of course, the unnatural purple eyes threw her off a bit, but when one woke up with a teal-eyed cat on one's chest, one often got used to oddly-eyed animals quickly enough.

"You have a pet wolf?"

"I guess you could call Luxuria that," Lust stood straight, and the wolf sat, waiting patiently for its master. Acedia went up to it, and curled up next to the beast, purring happily. "But for now, let's call him our ride, shall we?"

The wolf shook off the cat, who glared at him half-heartedly, before he began to stretch and change, growing bigger, elongating, shifting shape until it was a sleek, silver convertible, capable of seating five.

"I want the blueprints for that," Leo muttered, examining the car with a critical eye reserved for the children of Hephaestus when they saw a special mech-thing.

Percy began to move towards the wolf-car, but Nico grabbed his wrist. "Do you mind if we talk a bit?" he asked, directing the question to Lust.

"Not at all," dear gods, if that man did not stop smiling, then she would jump him like a rabid daughter of Aphrodite. He began to walk back to the car. "Take all the time you need."

"Which won't be that long," Nico promised, before pulling them into a circle. "I don't trust him."

"Wha-?" Percy blinked. "Why?"

Nico seemed to be searching for a word. "It's… it's his aura," the son of death finally admitted. "Yeah, that seems right."

"He seems like a nice guy," Leo said, and everyone looked at him in surprise. The Latino wasn't really moping anymore. There seemed to be more of a purpose in him. "Reminds me of this one teacher of mine that was actually decent."

"And anyways," Rachel interrupted, before Nico could object. "What other choice do we have? It's not like we have another option."

"You just want to hang around the good-looking guy," Nico complained.

Percy put a restraining arm in front of her, barring her way to strangle the son of Hades. "Remember what happened to the last Oracle, Rachel," he pleaded. "And which god was responsible."

"And you know it's true, deep, deep inside," Nico added, being rather unhelpful.

The son of Poseidon frowned. "Nico, shut up."

Nico sighed, suddenly looking defeated. "Fine. But if he does anything suspicious, I say we stab him."

Rachel's hand fell to her side, estimating how fast she could reach for her knife tied to her ankle. Quick enough, she supposed.

"With what?" Leo complained, running a hand through his curly hair. "I have no weapons."

And she had promised to fix that. Reluctantly, Rachel lifted her left foot to her hand and untied her other dagger. "Here, have mine," she said, handing him the knife.

Leo stared at the bronze blade with distaste. "What about you?"

"I have a spare," she lifted the leg and pulled the pants up a bit to show a flash of her favorite dagger. "See?"

He took the blade rather reluctantly and shoved it through his belt loop, making sure it wouldn't cut the denim strip. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Rachel flipped her red hair over her shoulder. "So, shall we get going?"

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Lust fiddled with the stereo of his car. "I hope you don't mind if I choose the music," he sounded apologetic.

"Not at all," Rachel tried to match his polite, polished tone. Judging from Nico's coughs behind her, she was failing.

The soft sounds of a piano began to play, the melody familiar to Rachel. "Magnet?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"You know Vocaloid?" He seemed surprised.

"I listen to the popular songs sometimes," Rachel admitted. It was kind of embarrassing, admitting she listened to a computer software sing in a language she barely understood when she worked for the god of music himself, and went to a camp with a cabin full of talented singers.

"Magnet is a nice song," Lust said in a dreamy voice. "This version was covered by two of my sisters."

A woman began to sing, soon followed by another. The second voice, though pitched higher than when she was speaking, was familiar. "Is that Sloth?"

"And Greed," Lust laughed slightly, and Rachel tried not to blush for the thousandth time. "Later, she said she wasn't happy with the results and went off to do another cover by herself."

If she focused, Rachel could recognize the other voice from the pithos dream, too. "She sang a duet alone?"

"Greed never did like to share," Lust chuckled.

Catching the pun, Rachel let out a startled laugh. Maybe Nico was wrong, and Lust wasn't so bad.

Now, if she could only stop imagining him shirtless on a beach….

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Nico glared at the back of Lust's head as the man laughed at something Rachel said. Their guide had insisted on having Rachel sit at the front with him, claiming that she needed to have her own seat and not be squished with a bunch of boys.

Nico didn't trust him. Yes, he would (reluctantly) admit that Lust was a particularly good looking man, but his aura was off. As a son of Hades, he could grasp on the auras of most living things. It was easier when they were near death, but the minor gods working in the Underworld had taught him a few tricks after the Battle of Manhattan. Generally, he could guess how close to death, or how mortal they were judging by the spots of death he could sense.

But gods…. They had this eternal life thing going on, so he couldn't feel the grasps of his father's element (the deathly kind, not the earthly kind) within any of them. To him, it was like staring at a piece of blank paper, searching for a mark. Lust was the same. That eternal, blank feeling when he looked at him, something that told him that Lust wouldn't die.

Sloth's spirit/dream manifestation had also been the same. That had been how he had known she wasn't dead. Despite her tired appearance, she had been (to his eyes) practically glowing with energy.

Besides, the good-looking ones tended to be weird. He would know, he spent a lot of time around Thanatos nowadays, and that god could have passed as a gothic Eros easily.

A sudden weight in his laps jolted him back to reality, and he looked down to notice the cat staring up at him with eyes identical to Sloth's.

The cat and the wolf – or car – were also off. They were living, but he couldn't see any vitality. They had no aura.

The only time he hadn't seen aura was on an inanimate object.

For a moment, the cat's eyes were piercing, and Nico felt dread crawl up his spine. The moment passed, and it looked away from his eyes to play with the cuff of his aviator's jacket, sniffing and batting at it with sheathed paws.

But then again, he had never really liked wolves or cats.

Nico leaned back into the headrest, one hand on the handle of his Stygian Iron sword. It would have been simpler if the thing had a smaller form, like Percy's pen, but he had never quite figured out how to do that.

Would it have any effect on Lust if he shoved the blade into him? If he focused, really focused on nothing but the residual powers of this man while pulling on all of his father's powers, then Nico could sense something ancient, even more than his father (who was very ancient). Something… _raw_, like the very divine essence, like a god going supernova toned down.

He wasn't sure about Celestial Bronze, but maybe the Stygian Iron could do something. Possibly absorb that energy and make him a bit more harmless. His father had told him (when he gave him the sword after meeting him in the Underworld with an escort of skeleton soldiers) that Stygian Iron could be dangerous even to the gods, because in essence, the gods _were_ life.

Lust wasn't a god (that he knew of), but Nico sure hoped that it would have the desired effects.

In the rear-view mirror, for a split second, he thought he saw Lust's lips curve into a mocking smile. Nico blinked, and Lust was just talking animatedly again, focusing on driving and talking to Rachel.

Narrowing his eyes, Nico tried to keep a better eye on him. Instinct had saved him multiple times, and he doubted that it would fail him now.

* * *

I gave the Sins the voices of my favorite Utaites. Which means... I own nothing. The link to that song will be at the forum I told you about last chapter, so check it out. Or not, if you don't care.

Next Chapter... it is partly revealed why there seems to be two Sloths, and the quest leads to... a church?!

Review, and prove to me that the thirteenth chapter isn't unlucky.


	14. Suicidal Sleepers

"My sister," Lust began his explanation over the music. Rachel noticed, out of the corner of her eyes, Percy and Leo leaning in to listen, although Leo was fiddling with something in his hands. Since Nico was directly behind her, she couldn't see what he was up to. "Sloth, that is. The others can be absolute weirdos. But Sloth is actually rather honorable for a Sin. What bargains she makes, she keeps."

"What exactly do you mean by a Sin?" Rachel interrupted. "The way you say it makes it sound like a person, rather than an action or something."

Lust's purple eyes narrowed in thought. "Ah," he finally said. "Let me explain it to you in a way you should be familiar with. You are aware what the gods are, correct?"

"Immortal deities of great power that personify their domains?" she guessed.

He nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. How he could see properly beyond the heavy tint, Rachel wasn't sure, but he didn't seem to have any issues. "And we are the same, but what we personify, what we represent, what we _are_-"

"Get on with it," Nico muttered. Rachel wanted to strangle him. For some reason – other than his incredible hotness – she just wanted to side with Lust.

"What we are," he continued as if Nico hadn't spoken. "Are Sins."

"So you're a bad guy?" Leo asked, his hands twiddling with some wires. "Because the last time I checked, sin was a _bad_ thing."

Someone – and she would have bet on the person being Nico – snickered, and then coughed to disguise the sound.

"Sin _is_ bad," Lust admitted. "However, it is our job to make sure the sinners are given what they deserve."

"So when do you people plan on getting the sinners like Kony?"

"When they die. I believe the term is 'go to Hell'."

"Hades," Nico corrected.

Lust just hummed along to the music, which had changed from magnet to….

"You listen to PSY?" Rachel listened in closer. Yup, that was the Korean dude, with his new song. (1)

"I used to live in Korea before I moved to Japan. That, and my sister helped make the video." (2)

"Can we get back to the topic?" Percy interrupted. Which, if Rachel thought about it, was quite the accomplishment, because the son of Poseidon got distracted quite easily.

"Apologies," Lust sounded sincere. "Have you ever heard of the _Divine Comedy_?"

"No," Leo and Percy answered immediately, while Nico answered "Yes," much to her surprise.

"You have?"

She imagined him scowling. "My father is the ruler of the Underworld," he spat. "He likes to tell me what the old people thought about death and the afterlife when he's in a bad mood."

"Dante," Lust mused, pausing his humming. "Great drinking buddy. Could drink all of us under the table. Except Gluttony, of course, but I doubt even Dionysus could beat him in a match related to consumption."(3)

So he was alive back when people were praised for writing poems on being tortured for redemption in Italian or something. Did this make him less attractive? Sadly, no. The downsides of hanging around immortals were that you just couldn't care anymore.

"Dante was a friend of ours, you could say. Though history will never mention us, he knew of our existence, and just what we did. He decided to make some money out of that information, by writing exactly what we told him about us. Of course, he did make a few mistakes, but the second part, _Purgatorio_, still gives the basics of what we do.

"In Purgatory – nasty place, by the way. It's like detention, but worse, if that is possible. In Purgatory, you are punished, but not like you would be in Hell. Rather, you are being purged of your sin.

"Each of the Sins control something a little extra, other than our actual Sin. I wield lightning, Greed reigns over the earth; Wrath controls flames, and so on. It's those that we use to punish the sinners. Pride makes people go around carrying huge slabs of stone so they can be more humble. Sloth makes sinners run around without stopping. Greed forces her sinners facedown to the ground painfully, letting them see that they have nothing.

"As such, we naturally get along well with monsters and spirits that have those certain powers. Actually, they seem to worship us, and we do them little favours every now and then. So when Sloth was asked by a wind spirit to come to Alaska – well, she couldn't really say no, could she? It wasn't to take long; just a little straightening with our Alaskan neighbors. So she went, and left behind Acedia."

The cat let out a '_mreow'_ of irritation.

"Yes. That proved to be a mistake. Something up there ambushed her, and she was captured. That shouldn't have been enough, but apparently, our enemies know how to disarm us."

Rachel glanced at his hands. His face and voice was controlled, but his hands were whitening as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Evidently, this bothered him.

"How do you disarm a Sin?" Nico spoke up.

Lust turned his head slightly and winked at the boy. "Top secret."

From Leo's reflection in the rear-view mirror rolling his eyes, she guessed that Nico was flustered by the man.

"And, as if that wasn't bad enough," Lust continued on, now looking straight ahead. "She was forced out of her body."

"Beg pardon?"

"We are, basically, four things combined. The Vessel, which is our physical self, the Spirit, which counts as our soul, the demon, and the weapon. Somehow, Sloth's spirit was forced out of her Vessel. We can rebuild our bodies from the essence of sin, but since her current body was intact…." He shrugged. "And the fact that she's imprisoned does not help matters either."

"So we have to free your sister's spirit, and get her back into her body?"

"Which is probably possessed by something else, so you'll have to fight that, too."

"And, of course, you won't help us at all, right?" Nico asked.

Lust smiled sadly. "I'd love to, but something is drawn there. Much like your Ancient Laws, it is forbidding me entry. Heroes and demigods, however, are free to do as they please."

Everyone except Leo groaned. "I take it you are familiar with that rule?" Lust asked, slightly amused.

"Too much for comfort," Percy nodded, slumping.

"What a shame," Lust grinned wickedly.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Five demigods, each with their own power inherited from their godly parents, were more than a match for many things in their world, particularly if they were all veterans of the Second Titan War.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to be a match against Annabeth Chase, angry daughter of Athena.

"So you're telling me my boyfriend left on an impromptu quest and none of you told me until now?!"

One of the cowering demigods, Connor Stoll, managed to muster up enough courage to talk to her. "You could send him an IM."

"Except they're out of service at the moment," reminded his brother.

The other campers winced as Annabeth's grey eyes began to blaze furiously, but Will Solace interrupted the smoldering talk coming their way. "Will you people be quiet!" he hissed. "I have patients here!"

Giving them all a cold glare that could have rivalled her mother's infamous look of evil, Annabeth stormed into the infirmary. "How is she?" she asked the son of Apollo.

"I'm going to assume you mean Thalia and not Clovis," Will muttered, rubbing the back of his head and yawning. "She'll be alright; she just needs more rest, and not have people bursting in every five minutes demanding she solve a conflict between the Hunters and the campers."

It went unspoken between the two that she was allowed to visit because she and Thalia had a close relationship with each other. They walked into the infirmary, where the son of Hypnos and the lieutenant of Artemis slept, healing. Bandages were wrapped around the mangled wrists, and she could see some bloodstains on their clothes.

"She wouldn't have done it, you know," Annabeth blurted into the uncomfortable silence. "She's not suicidal."

"Uh-huh," Will agreed distractedly. "Yeah."

"There has to be an explanation for it," Annabeth persisted. "Thalia wouldn't have tried to kill herself."

It was like she was trying to persuade herself more than Will.

"Neither would have Clovis, from what I know of him," Will added, changing Thalia's bandages.

"They shouldn't even be unconscious!" Annabeth threw her hands in the air.

"Mm-hm."

Some silence passed.

"You don't think she would have actually tried to kill herself, do you?"

Will bit back a sigh. "Not with a boy. Thalia's smart; she'd have known that the Aphrodite kids would have twisted it up into a tragic, forbidden romance."

"Yeah…."

Some more silence passed, and that was abruptly broken by one camper slamming the door open. "Annabeth!" Kayla, Will's half-sister, bound into the room. "The Hunters are trying to murder Drew!"

"I say let them," Will grumbled, now moving onto Clovis. Annabeth didn't bother holding back her sigh, and stood.

"I'd like that to happen, but I can't."

"Your loss."

"I think it's _all_ our losses."

"True to that."

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"First stop!" Lust cheered, stopping the car. Percy opened the door… to find roads, power lines, and a parking space, with a church ahead of them. "A church in Memphis, Tennessee!"

"How'd we even get here so fast?" Percy asked, curious because it should have been impossible travelling that fast, unless they were in a magic car.

"_This_ is where your sister's imprisoned?" Nico demanded, following out. Leo glanced around once, and then went back to twisting copper wires in his hands.

And he had thought he was seriously ADHD. Leo made him seem like a dedicated student.

"No, this is where I make you get something that seems completely unnecessary for your quest," Lust closed the door at the driver's side shut. Luxuria, empty of passengers, shrunk down into a wolf again.

Yeah, definitely magic car.

"Cool," Leo muttered, pausing his construction of a wire sundry to observe the wolf.

"'Seems'?" Rachel raised an eyebrow, but didn't quite look at Lust. After her previous reactions to his… _charms_, Percy didn't blame her for trying to be focused on her job.

"You see, there's a giant snake in there, and she's guarding something terribly important. And, like I told you before, I can't go in there."

"You're useless," Nico told him bluntly.

Seeing Rachel tense, Percy decided to end the conflict before it started. "What is it guarding?"

"_She_," Lust corrected, ignoring Nico's insult. "Is guarding a lot of things, actually. What you need, however, is the net. It'll look like something people use to fish with, but a lot thinner and prettier. Of course, the serpent won't just sit there and let you take it, so I suggest you be careful, and try to not get killed."

"Oh, wonderful," Leo muttered.

"Except you, Mr. Valdez. You and I need to have a word with each other."

"Huh?" The four quest members chorused in confused harmony.

"Dude," Leo held his hands up in a peaceful gesture. "Whatever you are accusing me of, _I did not do it_."

"Just a friendly word," Lust assured him, an easy smile on his face. "But a private one."

Leo glanced at Percy, as if asking for guidance. Percy shrugged, conveying with his eyes that it was up to what he wanted.

A flicker of surprise danced in his eyes before Leo closed himself off again. "Alright," he muttered, glancing down at his hands.

"Excellent," Lust beamed. "As for the rest of you…"

Percy half-expected a sunny smile. Instead, he was met with a grim face. "Good luck."

Never a good omen, in his experience.

* * *

(1) – If you don't know gangnam style, I am very disappointed in you.

(2) – No, no she didn't, but for the sake of the story….

(3) – Like above…

Oh, and I'm very happy. Why? Because Pokota, the utaite who I based Lust's voice on, made a cover of 'Madness of Duke Venomania', the song _representing_ Lust in Mothy's Evillious Chronicles. IT IS FATE!

Also, do me a favour, would you? There's an author named 'ILove2Write13'. She has a story, 'Green Eyes', going on, and I want Thalia to end up with Apollo. Go to her profile and vote for Team Apollo on her poll. Come on! Ten-Faced wants that to happen!

I own nothing.


	15. Tale of Sloth II

On Mount Olympus, there were several spots where minor gods, nymphs, and satyrs dared not go, in fear of the unknown forces that seemed to dispose of whatever annoyed them. Even the Olympians avoided those spots, claiming that other locations were far better.

One of those places was a small clearing, where a single willow tree stood, the dryad of the tree always asleep. On one of its wider branches slept a girl, not really caring about what happened. It wasn't of her concern.

It should have been.

A golden arrow was carefully notched and fired from above, striking the sleeping girl on her shoulder, just where the sun god had aimed. Aquamarine eyes opened, and for a moment the girl just stared at the shaft of the arrow, surprised at the pain she was feeling.

_This is no ordinary arrow._

Her lips parted, and a terrible shriek tore at the air, her voice reaching out desperately, to warn the others of this new turn of events.

Almost instantly, six other wails and screams echoed across Olympus, and her figurative heart clenched in an unfamiliar emotion; fear. Her siblings were in the same position as her.

Staggering to her feet, she leapt off her favorite napping spot and grimaced at her disabled abilities before she dashed off into the woods, hoping for cover and a hiding spot long enough to recover.

Almost instantly, she was struck by a man with winged shoes.

Two gods. Should have been too easy for her, except this arrow had been blessed, and drained her energy. Warily, she glared at the smiling messenger god, who held his caduceus in one hand and a blessed sword in the other. Hearing shuffling sounds behind her, she spared a glance to see the god of the sun, his quiver full and bow loaded with another blessed arrow. Both wore armour, and she sensed that they had been blessed.

Of course. Of course they would send two of the most diligent Olympians after her, to weaken her influence _and_ have them blessed by _him_.

A scythe, the metal pitch black as the moonless nights materialized in her hands. Unfortunately, that was all she could do.

Another arrow struck her, this time on her other shoulder, and she swung her weapon, slashing the armour on the god of thieves. Above them, the winds howled and thrashed, but never once reached them.

Somehow, she parried the sword several times with her own blade, and dodged the next two arrows before her back was to a narrow path. She fled again. This was a battle she could not win.

For a moment, she thought herself safe, not sensing the gods pursue her. Then, the ground rose from below her, pulling her together in a net that burned her skin, cleansing her. She screamed, and thrashed, but it was in vain.

_This is no ordinary net._

The two gods reached her in a leisure pace, and she hissed at them, wincing every now and then at the touch of the blessed net.

"That was almost too easy," Apollo murmured to his brother, who nodded in agreement.

_Curse you, _she snarled, not quite speaking out loud._ Your love will choose living death rather than your affections, and your prided son will die after feeling neglected by you!_

A few minor gods ran to them, and grabbing the net, hastily dragged the trapped Sin to the Throne Room, who was still spitting curses at everything. At mortals, at the gods, at the Titan, at their allies….

"Think that it will come true?" Hermes asked, after the Sins had been properly reduced to their essences and put into the _pithos_ meant for humanity.

"The curse?" Apollo plucked at his lyre. "No. Most likely, it was just empty words."

Apollo found himself wondering at 'empty words' when Daphne chose to be turned into a tree rather than be with him, never returning his love.

Hermes found ghosts of the past haunting him during the Second Titan War, and wept bitterly for Luke Castellan.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"It might be fun if they were in love, no?"

The Sins stared at the goddess of love with pure hate from within the net holding them captive.

"And then, they'd die thinking of their love! Isn't that cute?" she squealed.

Sloth kept her composure. Besides her, she could hear Wrath snarl.

The gods didn't say anything, but at the far back of the room, she saw the Virtues shifting uncomfortably.

"May I, Lord Zeus?" she asked, turning her full charms on the king of the gods. Even Lust made a noise of disgust.

"Whore," spat Pride, nursing her bleeding cheek.

The God of the Skies nodded, his beard hiding his blush.

Smirking, Aphrodite sauntered over to them, shaking her hips seductively.

"Oh, we are _not_ falling in love with you," Gluttony muttered, holding his stomach. Her brother had been stabbed there multiple times.

Aphrodite smiled a smile of pure mischief, and lifted her hands to her full lips, where she opened them palm-up to reveal some sparkling pink dust. She blew them gently, and it flew to the back of the room, circling the Virtues, before drifting towards them, smelling of roses and honey. The essence of the god attached to them, entering their wounds and affecting them permanently.

In horrified unison, they howled at the fierce pain.

"Love hurts," she smirked, before strutting back to her throne. "Especially if you're in love with your sworn enemies."

"Arrogant, useless, selfish bitch!" Wrath tried to lunge, but his legs, ripped to shreds from his previous battle, gave out beneath him.

"We," Charity coughed. "We shall take our leave now."

"And know that this is the last time you shall see us," Chastity added, looking at the gods in disgust. Sloth didn't blame her. Most of them went against her very nature.

Diligence smiled at her sadly, and they disappeared in a flash of light. Another foreign emotion pressed her figurative heart; sorrow. She missed Diligence.

The gods drew their blades and advanced, ready to cut them up and reduce them to their mere essence like they had done to Kronos. Sloth held tight to Lust and Envy's hand.

"We'll reform," she promised quietly. "They're putting us with Hope, the fools."

Lust spared her one last smirk before the first sword stabbed at them. Black blood began to splatter on the white marble floors as they screamed.


	16. The Big Snake

Waving goodbye to Leo and Lust, the three walked past the front doors of the random church. Inside, the air was cool, with white walls and polished linoleum, skylights letting in the natural lights of the sun chariot. A few chairs stood at the walls, for tired children and elders to rest on.

"I've never been in a church before," Percy confessed as they tried to figure out their next move.

"You haven't?" Both Rachel and Nico seemed surprised at this.

"No," he admitted. "I guess before, it was my mom knowing about the Greek Gods, or Gabe not letting us go anywhere halfway decent except the cabin, and then me learning about the gods."

"I'd have thought that Annabeth would have dragged you to all the famous chapels and everything," Nico noted, hand on his Stygian Iron sword.

"Same," Rachel admitted, her Celestial Bronze dagger in her hands.

Percy uncapped Riptide, and slowly edged to the door nearest to them. "Well, it seems quiet," he commented.

Nico nudged an unconscious person with his toes. "I wonder why."

"Do you guys hear that?" Rachel asked suddenly.

Next to him, Nico stiffened. Percy focused, trying to hear whatever Rachel had noticed, but he couldn't quite pick it up.

"It's like… singing," Rachel murmured, looking around almost wondrously.

"Maybe the choir's awake," Nico half-heartedly suggested, the bite out of his supposed-to-be sarcastic comment.

"No," Rachel shook her head, a glassy look in her eyes. "It only sounds like one person singing."

Percy found himself moving forwards with the others, passing their first choice until they stopped at another door, further down the hall. He couldn't hear singing, but he felt something, resounding within his chest like an old memory.

The rebellious heiress began to step forward, but at that moment, Nico's dark eyes widened in horror. "Get back!" he screamed, grabbing Rachel by her arm and yanking her back, just as the door slammed open and something mud-brown leapt to the very place she'd been standing a second ago.

Gripping Riptide harder, Percy swung forward with his trusty blade at the unidentifiable thing, hoping to dispel it back. To his horror, he found the Celestial Bronze sword go halfway through the monster, and get stuck there.

Now that it was still, he could see it to be some sort of a water and mud monster, roughly human-sized and shaped, and entirely composed of a thick, viscous liquid that was opaque. He pulled it out and stumbled back, following the others' examples.

Letting out a bunch of moans, it charged them, surprisingly fast, and seemed to swallow Nico.

"Nico!" Rachel tried to help him, but was forced to pay attention to the open door when three more of those things popped out, each making that gruesome wailing sound.

Percy's mind went into analysis, something Annabeth had been working on with him for some time now. But then his mind froze completely as a new, horrifying thought dawned onto him.

Annabeth. He had forgotten to tell her he was leaving.

"Oh, crap," he muttered, managing to swing his sword hard enough to cut through what could be considered the head of the creature. One down, one to go. "I forgot to say good-bye to Annabeth!"

Rachel seemed to be wrestling with her creature. "You're dead," she told him simply as she struggled to keep the monster from doing whatever it would do if it managed to overpower her.

"I know," he moaned back, smashing the 'face' of the glob-human with the flat of his blade before starting to cut off its 'arms' and 'legs'. "What am I going to do?"

"Get a burial shroud ready?" she suggested, cutting bits and slices off her monster.

With an animalistic sound, Nico managed to tear himself out of his glob. "That tastes disgusting," he growled, and began to stab the liquid creature with the black blade, absorbing a surprisingly pink essence from them.

"What does it taste like?" Percy questioned, ignoring the blows this thing was landing on him. The Curse of Achilles was really paying off, although he wasn't going to admit that to Nico at the moment.

"Like old gym socks?" Nico guessed, and Percy suspected that he had never really tasted old gym socks before.

"Ow!" Rachel exclaimed, and out of the corner of his eyes, Percy noticed her hacking off the fingers of the monster pulling her hair, trying to make it let go.

A particularly powerful strike managed to tear his creature in half, and he turned to help Rachel, only to find Nico on the job, slicing and dicing the thing as it tried to defend itself from both sides.

Rachel, it turned out, could handle herself. Her hair freed from being tugged at, she stabbed the thing again and again in its chest area while Nico cut off its limbs until it fell, unable to support itself any longer.

"That…" Percy surveyed the remains. Pieces of solid-ish mud-like substance everywhere, and not really any damage done to them.

"That was pathetic," Nico finished for him, sheathing his blade. Percy agreed with him silently. "And that was most definitely not a snake."

Rachel didn't add anything to that; she only wandered into the room. Not wanting something bad to happen by splitting apart, Percy and Nico hastily followed her, to find her staring at a book on a table.

The cover and title, thankfully to his dyslexic brain, was written in plain script, bold black against royal blue. "'The Guide on the Seven Deadly Sins'," he read aloud. "Can't be a coincidence."

"Never seems to be," Rachel commented, and shoved the book into her backpack. "We'll read it later."

Nico glanced around, trying to find where those things had come from. "It looks like they were just waiting in here," he said, tracing the air with a distracted finger, before it landed on the open window.

Rachel got the message. She walked over, and cautiously glanced out to see Lust and Leo having a chat a distance away. "Nothing special."

"Well then, let's just get on searching for the rest of the…" Percy turned to see the head of a gigantic snake outside the door, a monstrous red python with deep pink eyes. "Guys, do _not_ turn around."

They naturally turned around and saw the giant snake. "Holy…" Nico cursed, while Rachel drew in a sharp breath.

The snake's head was just a bit too wide to come through the door, although that didn't seem to stop it from bashing its head against the frames, making the walls crack until it smashed through. From then on, they were more than capable meals.

"Scatter!" Percy yelled, running at the head as he stabbed it through the top with Riptide. It didn't die instantly, and tossed its head furiously, throwing him headfirst to the ceiling.

Thank the gods for invulnerability. Falling, Percy had enough sense left to position the blade at a downward angle, and was rewarded with another stab to its back.

"You think she's poisonous?" Rachel shouted as she ducked behind the table after slicing at the huge snake once.

"Just don't get eaten!" Nico shouted from the other side of the reptile, slashing away faithfully. "Or bitten, for that matter!"

Percy didn't say anything to that, too busy trying to balance while riding the snake and attempting to stab it where it would hurt. Preferably the eyes.

"Didn't Lust say to just grab the thing it was guarding?" he shouted, when all of his efforts proved to be fruitless. "Or did we have to slay it as well?"

Somehow, all of them locked eyes. "Keep this thing distracted, boys!" Rachel shouted as she dived out of the room, managing to not get herself stomped by the writhing snake.

"Easy for her to say," Nico muttered, managing to land another blow.

Percy couldn't help but agree.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"You were expecting her to say something about your mother," Lust stated directly once the others had passed the doors of the church.

Leo blinked. That was direct. "Sloth? Yeah, I was," he kicked at a stone on the pavement of the parking lot, not meeting those purple eyes. Something about Lust made him sad.

"Are you disappointed?"

"In a way," Leo confessed. "I'm sure you know why I feel so guilty about her death, considering you seem to know everything else."

"I do," Lust admitted. There was a slight panting sound as Luxuria trotted towards his master. Leo hadn't even realized he'd been gone until now. "Good boy," Lust patted the wolf on his head, and took something out from his mouth. Leo glanced at it, and realized it was a pack of cigarettes.

"Sometimes, the addictive kiss of Nicotine can be the greatest blessing of all," Lust told him as he unwrapped them and removed one cancer stick. "Light it for me?" he asked, holding it towards him.

Leo flinched.

"You were born with those powers for a reason, Valdez," Lust chided, and held the end of the cigarette closer. "Not really for this, but since it seems so handy…."

Almost in a trance, Leo held out a finger and focused for a moment before the tingling feeling came to him. A flame shot out and lit the stick. His first fire use in years, not counting the one back in the Wilderness School with Hedge, and he used it to light a cigarette.

"Excellent," Lust stuck it in his mouth, the very image of what the girls – and some boys – at the Wilderness School would call 'hot'. He took in a breath, and then let it out with a world-weary sigh of someone much older than he seemed. "Normally, it's Wrath who goes around smoking, but sometimes me and Gluttony join him. Then Sloth comes and beats us up."

Leo stood, feeling awkward. No car to retreat into, and he didn't want to ask for a cigarette.

Lust dropped the butt, and ground it with his heels. "So tell me," he continued. "Do you love her?"

"My mom?"

"I was referring to Ms. McLean," Lust informed him coolly. "_Your_ incentive for this quest, I believe."

Sometimes, Leo wondered the same thing, too. But always, his mind had answered that no, Piper wasn't someone that would be his type. Too caring, too close to him. Always, his type was the unattainable ones, and far from him as the stars. Piper was only unattainable, because she was strictly a friend. She was very close, like a flower near the ground he sat on to watch the stars.

"Not romantically," he managed. Leo didn't want to give him the full explanation.

Lust nodded, like he had already known the answer. Probably did. "I see."

"You probably do," Leo sighed, shifting on his legs.

"Thank you for being honest. Rarely few seem to be these days," Lust ran a hand through his hair, most likely reminiscing about old times when people were _too_ honest. "For that, I'd like you to have this."

Leo blinked. One minute, Lust's hand had been empty. Now, he held a small glass orb, the size of a human eyeball towards him. Taking it in his hands and looking closer, Leo could see that it was filled with rays of yellow, purple, and bluish light, constantly shifting and changing.

"That's specialized miniature lightning," Lust informed him. "But smash the orb, and it'll be like a thunderstorm in there. Only you'll be able to smash it when you want to, so don't worry about it breaking accidently."

"Will I need a thunderstorm?" Leo asked, gingerly placing the glass sphere into one of his many pockets. Even with the promise of it not breaking, he still wasn't sure about having a thunderstorm appear randomly in his coat.

"You never know," Lust said quietly, tugging at a chain around his neck. Some sort of vial hung there, filled with water. He hadn't noticed it before.

"Well, thanks, I think," Leo tried to be polite.

"You're welcome. Luxuria?"

The wolf grew into the car again.

"Can I have the blueprints?"

Lust laughed, back to his old, carefree self. "He doesn't have any."

Leo pouted. "Shut up."

"Sadly, it's the truth. He's one of an eight."

* * *

Remember! Visit my forum, vote for Apollo, and review!


	17. Church Mummies

Rachel ran along the body of the snake, trying to keep to the side as to not be squished to the walls, all the while sniffing suspiciously. Something felt… odd. Like there was something she was missing, not noticing even if it was practically dancing naked in front of her very eyes.

She ignored it. At the moment, she needed to get the net so they could get out of this weird church that served as a nest for the snake that was probably more than half dragon.

Eventually, she managed to get to the auditorium after scrambling over the snake to get into the room. It wasn't a nice feeling, the scales dry and sharp against her unprotected skin, but she just shut her eyes and tried to not think of it.

Which proved to be a mistake. Not able to see with her eyes shut, Rachel tipped over and hit her head against a chair. "Ow!"

But inside, the thought of pain left as she saw just what this thing guarded. Bars of gold were stacked against one wall, a pyramid of riches ascending to the heavens. Some sarcophaguses were scattered here and there, a few open to reveal mummies within. A golden apple sat on a large table made of stone, and a few books encrusted with jewels lay on the ground carelessly.

And, the object she was looking for, the net, lay draped across a headless manikin like a see-through toga. Ick.

Rachel wandered across the maze made of the treasures, and tugged the net off. It was one she'd seen in a dream, where it had been used by the gods to capture some creatures with glowing eyes. And, like Lust had said, it was rather pretty, delicate and looking like it was for decoration rather than actual use.

She rolled it up, and opening her backpack, placed it carefully within the bag next to the book. "That was easy," she muttered.

The next moment, the manikin grabbed her shoulder with a stiff, plastic hand.

"Ahh!" Rachel lashed out at it with her dagger, and shoved it as hard as she could. It toppled over, but continued to crawl towards her.

"I just had to jinx it," she muttered, and began to run, trying to get out of the auditorium. Mummies began to rise, coming at her slowly like a bad Egyptian horror movie.

Thank the gods for the minimal training she had gotten at camp at the insistence of Apollo. Rachel kicked at the head of the first undead assailant, and managed to tear it off, letting it fall to the ground. Then, her dagger slashed at the torso, reducing its size and threat factor greatly.

One down, and about five more to go. Pushing her dagger into the sheath on her bag, Rachel picked up a chair and swung it down at the second mummy, and tried to not breathe in the dust flying as it crumbled up.

"Move!" She yelled, barging through the corpses with her chair. Naturally, they didn't, and she ended up just mowing them down with the steel-and-leather chair. At the door, she threw the furniture with all her strength at the nearest zombie wrapped in toilet paper, and slammed the door shut.

The snake seemed to be still occupied with the demigods, seeing how the part of its body near her was writhing angrily. "Percy!" She yelled, beginning to run down the hallway. "Nico! Come on, let's go!"

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"Rachel's calling," Nico reported, able to hear her better thanks to him being closer to the door.

Percy spared a glance, blocking it's fangs with Riptide. So far, they'd managed to puncture one of its eyes, cut away half of its fangs, and give it multiple head injuries, and it was still doing its deadly squirming dance. "She has it?"

Nico listened some more, and then nodded. "Yeah. Let's go!"

He slashed at the head one last time, and followed Nico as the son of Hades smashed the window with his sword. "Go, go, go!"

Nico scrambled out, and then Percy followed, just narrowly missing being eaten. Around the same time, Rachel burst out of the church through the front doors, panting and shaking some yellowish dust out of her hair. Before she completely relaxed, the Oracle of Delphi slammed the doors shut and ran towards them. "You guys okay?" she huffed out, red in the face from the strain.

"You have the net?" Percy asked instead. She nodded, and patted her bag.

"Good. Let's go. I miss the air-conditioned wolf-car already."

"We all do," Nico said as they trudged the short, hot distance to the waiting car.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"How did you do?" Lust asked, fixing the rear-view mirror to better see their reflections. Leo was sitting in shotgun, and Rachel got into the backseat with them without complaint.

"You forgot to tell us that the snake is the size of a dragon," Nico deadpanned, leaning into the cool leather upholstery. "Quite the shock we got."

In the mirror, Percy saw Lust frown. "Size of a dragon?" Lust repeated, disbelief in his voice. "That's impossible!"

"No, it was pretty close to dragon-size," Rachel muttered, rubbing her arm where a bruise was beginning to form.

Lust looked like he wanted to say more, but something made him pause and shut his mouth. "Well, as long as you're all okay."

Percy put a hand on Nico's wrist to prevent the son of Hades from strangling their driver.

"So where are we going to now?" Rachel asked, sharing a frantic look with Percy._ (Distract them. Do something so World War III or something just as bad doesn't break out)_

"To the City of Sin in America, of course!" Lust flashed them a grin in the mirror. "We're going to Las Vegas!"

Percy flinched, and a yelp tore past his surprised throat. Rachel gawked, while Leo looked excited. "Las Vegas? Sweet!"

The Latino may have meant to say more, but it was drowned out. "No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Nico all but screamed in horror, eyes wide like a madman as he clawed at his seatbelt.

"Is something wrong?" Lust asked, slowing his driving as Percy and Rachel tried to calm him down, while Leo fully turned in his seat to stare.

"Is something wrong? I lost my entire life in that stupid city, that's what's wrong!"

Lust frowned, and fully stopped the car. "You seem alive and vital to me, even for a child of Hades."

"That's not what I mean, you stupid Sin!"

"Can we have a moment outside?" Rachel pleaded, grabbing one of Nico's arms. Percy grabbed the other, already opening the door.

"Sure," Lust shrugged. Leo fidgeted, looking awkward.

Percy all but dragged Nico out, and Rachel crawled out after them, shutting the door.

"He has no right!" Nico snarled, eyes dangerously wild. "No right at all!"

"He doesn't know," Percy reminded him quietly.

"Probably," added Rachel.

Nico bared his teeth at them, reminding Percy of a wolf; albeit one that was rather young and harmless. "That still doesn't mean he can-"

"If he knew, then he wouldn't have said anything, Nico."

"Oh, yeah?" Nico shot back. "Then what about his sister knowing about us, and what incentive we would need for this stupid quest?"

Percy opened his mouth to answer, but no sound came.

"And what about Lust knowing just what was guarding the stupid net? How'd he know it was in there, anyways?" Nico continued, full-out ranting. "This is seriously messed up! For all we know, he could be-"

_Slap!_

Two wide eyes stared at Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who had her hand slowly turning red from the harsh strike. Nico slowly put his hand on his own reddening cheek.

"That's enough, Nico," Rachel said, her voice lowered. "Just think! If he'd been the all-knowing, omnipotent person you thought him as, then he'd be more well-known! Instead, we just learned about him less than a few hours ago!"

Percy understood where she was going with this. Partly, anyways.

"He's got to be weaker than we think, or he'd be able to get his sister without our help," she continued. "And maybe he's just a concerned brother who wants to rescue his sister, because he loves her like you love Bianca."

Nico flinched. "I'm sorry," he muttered sullenly. Percy would have sworn his eyes were glistening with tears, but he didn't dare look closer.

Rachel enveloped him in a hug, not caring that Nico stiffened within her arms. The young Dare heiress shot him a look, something like _join-the-group-hug-or-die._

Percy joined the group hug.

After a moment, Nico seemed to have recovered, because he began to thrash for freedom. "Let me go, you big softies!"

Percy was all too glad to oblige, but Rachel kept her grip. "Promise to not freak out again?"

"Promise," Nico repeated, voice slightly muffled. "Let go of me, woman!"

Rolling her eyes, Rachel released the son of Hades. "Now let's go save the world from dying in their sleep."

"You make it sound so fun," Nico commented dryly, but there was a more peaceful look in his eyes, like he'd settled some inner conflict that had been eating him out from the inside.

Percy cracked his knuckles, and opened the door. "Well, she threw a plastic brush into the eye of a Titan when she was fourteen…."

"Once! I did that once, and none of you will let me forget it!" Rachel ranted, sliding down the seat. Nico followed, sitting in the middle, and Percy entered last, pulling in his feet and shutting the door.

"Ready?" Lust looked at them through the mirror, the same pleasant smile on his face. He didn't seem too fazed by Nico's snapping.

"Yeah."

Lust started the engine, and began to drive. "I apologize for any words that you might have found offensive, Mr. Di Angelo."

A jabbing elbow from Rachel hit Nico's ribs. "Apology accepted."

The elbow jabbed again, digging into the same spot. "And I'm sorry, too," he added, wincing from Rachel's elbow attack.

"Everyone's happy!"

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Annabeth stared at Chiron, disbelief on her face. "So Percy, Nico, Leo, and Rachel left on a quest to save some girl because she's the only one who can stop the entire world from dying while they're asleep?"

"That is correct," her mentor nodded.

"And you are aware that Rachel is, while hosting the Spirit of Delphi, still a mortal, and Leo has never really had formal training, right?"

"If I may, Percy has never had any formal extensive training before he went to recover the Master Bolt."

"Percy's the son of Poseidon!" Annabeth threw her hands in the air. "A Big Three child! Leo may be the son of Hephaestus, but he still never had any official training! He probably doesn't even have a weapon!"

"Actually," Chiron corrected. "Argus informed me that Rachel has given him one of her Celestial Bronze daggers."

Which left Rachel short of one emergency weapon. Annabeth groaned. It did not look good to her.

"Lust, Sloth…." She muttered, trying to focus on something else. "Aren't those from the Seven Deadly Sins?"

The centaur nodded. "I can only assume they are gods who have taken on pseudonyms to protect their identity, although why, I cannot imagine."

"You can't imagine why they would need the names, or why they would take something from a different religion?" Annabeth guessed.

"Both, I'm afraid."

The daughter of Athena stood, and dusted herself. "Maybe I can come up with a different idea while I'm in sword-fighting class."

"Perhaps," Chiron agreed.

Annabeth left, but Chiron frowned. "Or the last option…." The centaur slowly made his way back to the Big House, and began to rummage through the articles from the past, until he saw the old dagger, hidden in one of the chests. While it was made of Celestial Bronze, it had a faint glow to the edges, as if there was something more to this blade than just monster-slaying magic.

Chiron took it back out and hid it under his wheelchair, out of sight but easily accessible.

He had a feeling it might be needed.


	18. All in Lotus

"Alright, we're here," Lust told them, parking his car. Percy strained his eyes to try and look out of the window, but he could barely make out anything except dark outlines of buildings.

"Before you leave…." Lust bit his lip. "Mr. Di Angelo, were you, by any chance, staying in the Lotus Hotel and Casino for some time?"

Nico's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Yes. Why?"

"That's where Sloth is trapped," Lust informed all of them solemnly. "Along with your sister, Ms. McLean, and other people."

To give his 'cousin' credit, Percy admitted that Nico reacted fairly well for someone who'd been just told that they might have to return to a place where they'd been trapped for nearly a century. The son of Hades gawked, the blood draining from his already-pale face, his dark eyes widening to the verge of nearly popping out, and a strangled sound came from the depth of his throat.

"Is he going to freak out again?" Leo whispered, anxiously staring at him.

That popped Nico out of his stupor. With some obvious effort, he drew in air to his lungs and narrowed his eyes.

"Just remember!" Lust cheerfully continued on, as if Nico hadn't frozen at the thought of returning to the Lotus Casino. "The brown eyed Sloth is the fake on, and the one with the teal eyes is real!"

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"All shall reveal itself," Lust announced grandly, stepping out of his car and slamming the door shut. They had no choice but to follow.

Outside, Percy recognized the time-stopping building he had stayed in temporarily from his first quest. Suddenly, his confidence drained, and he began to doubt himself, wondering if he could ever free himself a second time from the brainwashing spell that place would have on the people that stayed there.

"You won't have any troubles," Lust reassured him, appearing to read his mind. "The staffs are asleep, and the spell is temporarily broken in there. All you have to do is take care to not get killed by anything else."

Well, that was reassuring.

"Go in there, free my sister's spirit and the people you like. Easy, right?"

Leo scowled. "And now you probably just jinxed us."

"Then I suggest you get in there before I jinx you again," Lust suggested, leaning on the hood of his car.

When he put it like that…. Percy unsheathed Riptide, and began to make his way to the entrance of the Hotel, followed by the rest of the party. "Ready?" he asked at the door.

"No," Leo and Nico muttered at the same time, and both looked at each other in mild surprise.

"Too bad," Percy opened the door and stalked in.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"You!"

Gold nearly dropped her platter in surprise. For the past two days, her new mistress had been increasingly anxious, as if expecting a bomb to go off beneath her feet any second. Now, she was pointing at her, eyes wide and wild.

"M-me?" she stuttered, even as she knew that the girl was talking about her.

"Yes, you!" she snapped. No longer did she appear tired, and overworked. Now, she was like someone high on coffee and sugar. "Bring that other girl here, right away!"

By other girl, she must have meant Silver. "Yes, mistress," Gold muttered, bowing and hastily retreating.

Once out of sight, she scampered to their closet, and just flung the door open. "Silver!" she hissed, panicking. "The mistress is looking for you!"

The other girl crawled out from the clothes, looking bewildered. "Why me?"

"I don't know!" Her eyes roamed their living space until they landed on the knives. "Take these with you!" she cried, shoving them to Silver. "Hide them under your clothes!"

"You want me to stab the girl?" she whispered back furiously.

"No, I want you to be able to defend yourself!"

Silver looked doubtful, but did what she told her to do, which relieved Gold of some of her mental panic. "You sure she wanted to see me?"

Right on cue, the winds howled. "WHERE IS SHE?!"

"Very sure."

Now Silver looked a bit frightened, and that hurt Gold. She reached out, impulsively, and hugged Silver. But what did one say when one wasn't sure what would happen? Gold remained silent, just holding her tight in her arms.

"I gotta go," Silver gently pulled Gold off. "And don't worry; I'll be fine."

The wind spirits became louder, more annoyed and impatient, and Gold could almost feel the tension.

She doubted that it would be fine, and silently snuck after her as Silver made her way across the large suite.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"What the…" Jason leaned as far as he could, trying to get a view of what was happening down there. It appeared that the _venti_ were gathering around a changing cabin next to the pool, where a black-garbed humanoid stood.

"What's wrong?" Piper stood, craning her neck and squinting to see. "Oh, it's Sloth."

"_That's_ Sloth?" Jason narrowed his eyes as well. Barely, just barely, he could see that 'Sloth' was a girl, and a young one at that, but from this height, it was hard to make anything else out. "From your previous reactions, I thought it would be a monkey-thing."

"No, it was a weird, sleep-deprived girl that told me I was in the Realm of Sloth and then ordered a – what did you call it, a _ventus_?" he nodded, and she continued. "Ordered a _ventus_ to put me in here. The _ventus_ was the one who compared her to a monkey."

Jason thought for a moment. "Did she look like a monkey?"

Piper sat against the bars of their imprisonment again, leaning against the gold. "No."

"Huh."

And that was when all of Tartarus broke loose, starting with the doors of this place far down there slamming open.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

All shall reveal itself.

Won't have any troubles.

_Easy_.

Thinking back, Percy figured that he should have let Nico strangle/maim/kill Lust. Was _he_ the one facing down a battalion of wind monsters? Was _he_ the one back in the Casino where he had nearly been trapped for gods-know-how-long?

No. And now, as Percy slashed, ducked, and dispelled a bunch of _anemoi thuellai_ into dust, he was regretting being nice.

Next to him, Nico was rather distracted, barely fending off the oncoming wave of living wind as he searched everywhere for his sister. Even Leo and Rachel were doing a better job of holding the monsters off with their daggers.

"What do we do again?" the son of Hephaestus yelled, fending off one of the monsters. "And how do you kill these things?!"

"Stab them!" Nico yelled, getting his head back in the game after Rachel accidently clipped him on the head.

"Because it's totally easy to stab the wind, right?"

As if he was proving a point, Nico thrust the point of his Stygian Iron blade through the chest of the nearest storm angel. The yellowish dust, the essence of the monster was absorbed by that nightmare-black blade, and the wind monster let out a scream before dissolving away. The son of Hades raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, that's totally unfair," Leo complained, jabbing at his opponent while it tried to dodge and kill the demigod. "You have this wicked cool weapon, and I have a puny dagger."

"I am so sorry for wielding nothing but puny daggers," Rachel snapped, slashing at the horse charging her. Looking closely, Percy could see some cuts and slices along her arms and tears on her clothes. He picked up the fighting pace.

And then, all of a sudden, the anemoi thuellai retreated, scattering apart and fleeing, flying past them to get out through the doors of the Hotel. Within seconds, the floor was abandoned.

"I hope they attack Lust," Nico muttered, not sheathing his sword. Percy looked around. What had scared them off? Was this a trap?

"Meow."

They looked down, where Acedia sat, toying with a random baby's rattle.

"Let's pretend we didn't see that," Rachel suggested, brushing her hair out of the way.

Percy would have sworn the cat rolled her eyes as she got to her feet. Then, after picking up the rattle in her mouth, she gestured at them with her tail, and began to leisurely walk over to a large tower in the back.

Following, Percy could see that it was a clocktower, like the Big Ben thing in England. Actually, it looked exactly like the pictures Annabeth had shown him, except for the colours, being black and gold instead of the more normal colours.

"Leo!" a faint cry came from the top, where a golden birdcage the size of a large van hung next to the face. "Leo!"

The son of Hephaestus squinted up, and then his eyes widened in shock. "Piper!" he began to run towards the clocktower.

Percy really couldn't see the top very well, but he figured that Leo would recognize his friend better. The rest of them followed the Latino as he chased the cat into the door at the bottom of the clocktower. Without even waiting for the rest of them, he slipped into the entrance, and disappeared from their sight.

"Don't split up!" he roared after him, picking up his pace. Behind him, he heard two pairs of feet increase their speed, and figured that Nico and Rachel were running after him.

Inside the clocktower, in was dark, but the steel making up the stairs and the walls were slightly glowing in an eerie way, enough to illuminate their run up. Way above them, he could hear the pounding of Leo's feet as he ran to his friend.

Percy capped Riptide, not wanting to accidently hurt someone, and began to run up. Nico hadn't paused, and so the son of Hades was in the lead now, dashing up to catch up to their other quest member and the cat.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Running up stairs, Rachel decided, was a form of torture that would be rated 'ten' on the 'scale of most horrifying tortures known to man'. At first, your legs protested at the rapid, sudden burn it felt, almost screaming at you to stop this ridiculous madness you were putting it through. Then, the burn would be excruciating, to the point where the fire spread to your lungs and heart. Then, it dulled, but you would know nothing but running, racing to climb that next step as fast as you could.

That, and it was really boring. Look at her! She was coming up with the very detailed explanation on why it was a cruel and unusual torture method, just to keep her mind occupied at the moment!

Her demigod companions seemed to fare better, something she found unfair. They inherited, from their DNA-lacking godly parent, the good looks, the fighting instinct, the unnatural strengths, the magical gifts, and the super cool powers. No wonder lots of them died young; no one should be so lucky.

So engrossed in her thought, Rachel Elizabeth Dare nearly ran straight into the black-clothed back of Nico Di Angelo. Only at the last minute did she notice him in time to pull her legs into an undignified stop.

"Where's Leo?" Percy demanded, catching up. He'd fallen back, to make sure that there wouldn't be any following monsters that could kill the Oracle. She'd been alright, sandwiched by two of the most powerful demigods alive, but it did negative wonders to your pride, to have to be dependent on the easily distracted heroes.

"He's still running up," Nico informed him, leaning on the wall. Another thing about demigods; they tired less easily. Neither him nor Percy were clutching at their sides for breath after the intense run ten stories up. Or, at least Rachel guessed it was ten. She'd lost count after seven, when she had nearly tripped on her shoelace.

"Then why'd we stop?" Percy demanded, looking like he would leap up the stairs given the signal.

Nico pointed to Acedia, sitting and licking the back of her paw. "That's why."

Acedia eyed them critically, and then sauntered over to the wall where Nico was leaning on. Facing the blank steel, teal eyes seemed to engage in a staring contest with the tempered steel.

Nothing happened.

"Is this normal cat behaviour?" Nico asked Percy, who only shrugged.

"We should get going," the hero of Olympus replied, and began to turn when there was a large screech, the sound of metal protesting at the abuse it was receiving.

Right in front of their eyes, the metal was glowing a soft aquamarine light, peeling in four wide strips down from the walls to reveal a large set of double doors made of ebony, inlayed with gold to depict scenes from history.

Rachel could hear Sloth's all-too familiar voice, whispering through her mind and striking her thoughts, reverberating all across around her.

_Free me…._

"I think we're at the right place," Nico commented.


	19. Traditional Dungeon

Nico reached out, but Rachel yanked his hand back, not wanting him to touch the door in case it proved to be dangerous. The son of Hades stuck it instead in the pockets of his jacket, looking sheepish. "What should we do?" he asked to no one in particular.

The cat, once again, proved to be useful. She walked up to it, and pushed at it with her head, slowly forcing the door to open into a darkness none of them could really see through.

"We have to go in there, don't we?" Rachel muttered. The cat nodded.

That cat was seriously weird. Maybe some kind of god in disguise, although he couldn't imagine why. Taking a deep breath, Percy uncapped Riptide, and held the glowing bronze blade into the darkness, trying to shed light onto their shadowy path. A rocky path, cavern-like walls, but that seemed to be it, leading deeper into a place where the light didn't reach. "Yeah."

"Great," the Oracle muttered, not sounding very excited for the prospect of entering that place.

As the invulnerable one of the party, Percy felt obligated to be the first to step in the tunnel. And, as it turned out, it was a good thing he did, because at least twenty daggers shot out from the shadows to stab him. Or, try to stab him, but end up bouncing off his indestructible skin and clatter to the ground.

He waited, but no second wave of pointy weapons flew at him. "I think it's clear!"

Nico stepped in gingerly, the Stygian Iron sword in his hand almost seeming to absorb what little light Percy's own Riptide was giving out. Rachel followed, warily glancing around.

Nothing happened, and they inched along the tunnel, trying to reach the other end. During their little walk, Percy found himself nearly falling into a pit filled with sharpened stakes, cut by a falling guillotine blade, and swung at with a scythe.

None of it had any effect, but each time, it made all of them jumpy.

Finally, after what felt like ten extremely tense and nerve-wracking hours, they found the cavern floor smoothing out to black, polished marble, the sides straightening into pitch black walls with bursts of fire and super-heated steam.

"We're here," Rachel's hushed voice magnified and echoed across Sloth's prison. Continuing on, a faint light was visible to them, floating in the middle of the dark room and shining to them, the teal light illuminating their path to itself. That _had_ to be Sloth.

Eventually, the orb of teal light was directly in front of them. And now, the question was, what did they do?

Nico was closest to the light out of all of them. Washed in the aquamarine light, Percy didn't recognize the look in his eyes before it was too late. The look of someone under a trance, persuasion the strongest thing in their brain. "Nico-" he began warningly, reaching out to stop him, but by then, it was too late.

The son of Hades, as though compelled by a voice unheard to the rest of them, reached out and stuck his hand into the orb of teal light.

And promptly passed out, making the light vanish along with his unconsciousness. At that, the walls began to shake like an old, cheesy adventure movie, slowly grinding together.

There was nothing cheesy about the situation, where all of them were about to be crushed into a shapeless pulp. Percy swore, threw Nico onto his shoulder, and began to run, Rachel directly behind him. Hopefully, they'd manage to make it out of here. He wasn't willing to test what the Curse of Achilles did when it was pressed by walls closing in.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Panting, Leo paused before the door at the very top of the stairs, trying to catch his breath while he clutched at his sides. Even Coach Hedge – who wasn't really a coach, but would be remembered as such to him – hadn't made them do anything like this. Leo snuck a look down the spiraling staircase, and frowned. No one else was clambering up those metal stairs.

He was on his own.

That thought relaxed him, which was completely illogical. He should have been scared out of his mind, wanting to run away from this place as fast as he could.

Leo decided that it was adrenaline in his veins, and opened the door, only to blink. Hadn't Piper been stuck in a golden birdcage hanging at the side of the clocktower?

Instead, she and this one blond dude were sitting on a loveseat, anxiously resting in this living room. Still, it was clearly his friend. "Piper!" Leo began to make his way to her.

She froze, eyes widening in horror. "Stop!" she screeched, making the other guy wince slightly at the volume.

Leo was hurt, he'd admit. "Hey, what's wrong, Beauty Queen?" the nickname, while hated by Piper, had stuck after she'd been on the list for the Wilderness School's Most Beautiful.

Piper didn't even scowl at the nickname. "Leo, do not take another step," she warned, eyes trained onto the place where his feet were planted.

"Um, okay?"

The blond dude frowned. "Can't he see it?" Leo heard him ask Piper.

"I don't think so," she muttered back, still studying the floor intently. "Or he wouldn't have been running like that."

Leo tried to focus on the floor like Piper was doing, but it wasn't really up his alley. There was a reason why all his teachers had been pre-warned about his severe case of ADHD-

"Whoa!" Leo skidded back. Carpets covering a solid, secure floor vanished, leaving nothing but a ledge ending into thin air, not an inch away from his toe.

"I think he sees it now," the blond guy commented.

"No, really, Jason?"

Jason. So that was his name. Now, Leo could see that they were, indeed, in a gigantic birdcage hanging from the side of a clocktower inside a hotel.

So _that_ was what the film had meant when the narrator had said that your life would become much weirder after you learnt you were a demigod.

"Can you get us out?" Piper asked, coming as close to him as she could from within the cage.

Leo examined the birdcage. Some sort of a lock hung, although there was nothing he could do to pick it. It wasn't any kind of lock he'd seen before. A golden cylinder, with a chunk of obsidian in it. Probably magic. "I don't know," he replied, being honest.

"Could you hand me my sword?" the guy named Jason asked, pointing to a pedestal next to him. How he had missed that, Leo wasn't sure, but he was more than willing to blame the ADHD.

"Sure," grabbing the golden sword that was lighter than it seemed, Leo passed it gingerly to Jason, who grabbed it, looking confident with it in his hands.

"Piper, stand back," he warned, before beginning to hack at the bars.

Leo relaxed. "Oh, good. Everything's going great."

That was before three wind monsters burst through the door. "Crud."

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"Gold, you alright?" Silver whispered to her from across the small room.

"I think so," Gold muttered back, trying to flex her cramping toes. While following Silver, she had forgotten to watch out for the wind monsters halfway, and had been discovered. The mistress had ordered them tied up and thrown into one of the cabins used for changing next to the pools. At least they were out of that penthouse. It was a small consolation, nearly worthless, but she held it close to her heart.

Sounds of metal clashing came to their ears, followed with screeches and the wind howling. Silence fell, and human voices could be heard, but words couldn't be made out. They faded away.

"What do you think happened?" in the dark, Gold saw Silver shrug. Somehow, they had rather good sight in the shadows, their eyes adjusting instantly. It was rather convenient at the moment, for sure.

"Maybe a rescue party from a fairytale," Silver joked, shifting from her uncomfortable, curled up position on the ground. "With handsome princes. Although," she added quickly. "I don't like the thought of being a helpless damsel in distress."

"Yeah, me neither," Gold muttered back.

Some silence filled the air, although it wasn't uncomfortable. Rather, it was almost soothing to her frazzled nerves, which didn't really make sense. "But a rescue from this place _would_ be nice."

Silver nodded in agreement. "It would be."

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Nico thought he was awake, until he looked down and found himself transparent and glowing. "I'm dead," he wondered aloud.

"No, you're just unconscious," a familiar voice muttered. Nico looked up to find Sloth, dressed in tight-fitting black armour. A cape of the aquamarine shade identical to her eyes hung from her shoulders, fastened with some onyx brooches.

"Then let me wake up!" he exclaimed, and began to slap himself, trying to force himself back into consciousness.

"We need to settle some business before that."

"_What_ business?" Nico demanded, stopping self-harm; he didn't feel any pain anyways.

"Originally, I was going to just follow you and temporarily inhabit Acedia," Sloth explained. "Sadly, you somehow absorbed me, and that option is out of the window now. Most likely because of me being, _technically_, a _rogue_ _spirit_, and your father's death-powered blood within you, but we haven't the time to be making such hypothesises at the moment. I'm afraid the only thing to do is to let me take control of your body – temporarily, of course – and fight that faker so I may re-inhabit my vessel, or destroy it to create a new one. All good?"

Several things should have been wrong with that, but there was only one thing that came to mind. "A _girl's_ going to be in my body?"

Sloth raised an eyebrow. "Problem?" she asked.

"Well, yes!" Ghost Nico ran a ghost hand through his ghost hair. "I'm a boy! _Male_! The thought of having someone in my head is awkward enough without that _someone_ being a female!"

Rolling her eyes, the space around Sloth warped a bit, before straightening out. "Better?" her – or _his_ – voice was lower pitched, the shoulders were broader, the formerly waist-length hair was shaggy at shoulder-length, but now short enough to be masculine.

"…you just made yourself look like a guy. That doesn't make you a dude." To Nico, she didn't even sound like a guy. Just a low-voiced woman. Well, actually, considering how Sloth had already had a low voice before, he supposed it should be a _lower_-voiced woman.

"It's not like I'm going to be able to access your memories or anything like that," she told him as the space warped again and her changes were reversed.

Nico scowled. "Yeah, but it's still weird, and awkward."

"No, what's awkward is being put under a truth spell and being asked how old you really are. Ensures that you never get a second date."

"Very valuable advice you're giving me."

"Isn't it?" Sloth seemed perfectly serious. "I'd think that you, of all people, would have that problem."

"What problem?" But then, Nico saw it. He _had_ been born before World War II, which made him… which made him quite old. Maybe he _would_ be able to use that advice.

"Time is ticking, Lord Nico," Sloth's voice was urgent now. "You must let me take control, or your friends may not make it."

"Wait, my friends? What's happening?"

"Oh, nothing, except now that you've accidently absorbed me and everything, the room's trap has been set in motion, and my former prison is currently trying to crush them to nothing."

What was more important here; his discomfort, or his friends living? "And letting you taking over my body's going to save them?"

"Only temporarily," Sloth reminded him. "And yes."

Now that it was on his shoulders, Nico realized just how odd it was. Here he was, signing off control of his own body – _his own body!_ – to some weird god-like being who happened to be lacking a body so that his friends wouldn't be crushed in a trap that he himself set off by accident.

"Alright," he shut his eyes tightly. "Do it."

Through the darkness of his own eyelids, Nico felt his dream/spirit manifestation be pulled through some kind of path by what felt like a secure rope anchoring him to the ground.

The ground was thudding, and when he opened his eyes again, he found himself slung on someone's – probably Percy – back as he ran for his life. Nico tried to scramble off and run on his own, but he couldn't move, couldn't say anything, couldn't even draw a breath by himself.

Almost like he was still in a dream, he felt his body move on its own – or by a separate will – and slip off Percy's shoulder, before shouting some kind of ancient word that caused a huge blast, throwing the lot of them, making them shoot out through the rest of the tunnel.

And as he watched, Nico realized, even while he found himself picking up his sword, that it wasn't him in control, wasn't him doing anything, wasn't him wincing.

It wasn't him, making the moves or anything like that. It wasn't _him_, period.

And that was the scariest thing that ever hit the son of Hades.

* * *

School starts for me tomorrow... so no more daily updates...

And if you kinda want to hear how Sloth's voice change went, go to the forum, should be in Links for Realm of Sloth. Yamai sang the same song twice, once in a 'feminine' voice, and once in a 'masculine' voice. I think you can endure the nine minute video. The song's pretty good, even if it's Japanese.


	20. Tale of Sloth III

The seniority of the Sins was decided by their rebirth order, in the order they had escaped from that wretched _pithos_, because even as ancient as they were, the Sins didn't quite remember how they were born, and in what order.

For what creature can truly remember their birth?

What they did remember is forming, out of the remains of what had been a great vast nothing dubbed Chaos as it was organized into Cosmos, the order. Life, in the form of great primordial deities had formed, and inside them was a struggle that could only be called the battle between the forces of 'good' and 'evil'.

The Sins were, supposedly, the _evil_.

They lived in ignorance, not understanding their powers or essence, until they ran into another group similar to them.

The Virtues, or _good_.

At their first clash, it was obvious what their purpose was. They were to fight, and destroy each other, so that at the end, the remaining victor would spread their essence, be it good or bad, and dye the world in either white or black.

Hardly a day would pass without some sort of brawl occurring between the counterparts, but when life began to spread – with the birth of the Titans, the Gods, the spirits, and everything else, it was obvious that such grand fights could not go on.

There had to be rules set in this fight. It had to become a game, with restrictions and laws.

It was, surprisingly, the Sins who had come up with this idea. The Virtues were wary at this, but eventually, they too saw the need to have a proxy war.

No longer would they physically fight. From now, they would fight each other through the minds and morals of other life. Their battleground became the psyche of others, their weapons the deeds of others.

The gods were less than pleased at this, at becoming the battlefield of such beings, but they had other problems, and this competition continued. Corrupt, save, cleanse, and the cycle continued. The gods were their puppets. Those divine beings didn't mind the touches of the Virtues, but they truly despised the lure of the Vices.

They didn't care. Sloth remembered laughing when her brother and sister had tricked the gods, over and over again into making fools of themselves through uncontrollable lust and incredible vanity. How their faces were so contorted in shock when their own domains would not do their bidding. Everything was in a pattern. Laugh, fight in proxy, enjoy themselves. Simple, and they had loved it.

And then, something happened. The Sins never found out what, but suddenly the game had changed. Now, the Virtues were allied with the gods, giving them the forces to strike them out.

It seemed the problem could be solved by one strike. They found themselves dispelled into the very basic elements, and screened, their strongest, rawest forms cast away to the deepest pits of Tartarus, and put into an enchanted _pithos_ with low class demons and so called evils. Handed off to humanity, banished from the heavenly world in the blue sky.

And for the first time, they realized just how radiant their world had been.

Just how much they had underestimated the gods sitting in the beautiful heavens in their mercilessness.

And just how much they wanted revenge.

The gods were too proud. Those fools had left them in an enclosed space with Elpis, the spirit of Hope. From her they drew the strengths they needed, as well as from Wrath their blinding rage and from Pride the need to make those gods grovel at their feet.

They healed, and then they tempted Pandora, freeing themselves. Reborn.

But this time, they were crafty. They shielded themselves from the eyes of the gods, all the while engaging the Virtues in that treacherous game and pulling, bit by bit, their demonic essences from Tartarus.

And, of course, the new goal. Project Pandora.

* * *

_Oh, when the Gates to the Underworld are about to open, then tearful will be that day, when the demons walk the earth and strike like avenging angels, burning down the heavens to this sullied, bloodstained world…._

* * *

Whew! So Chapter Twenty One is nearly finished... I was typing it when I realized that I needed to do a 'Tale of Sloth' and freaked.

A lot of elements from this chapter were based on the song 'Lacrimosa', covered by ENE, Guriri, Nobunaga and Wataame. On the forum, it will say 'Links for Realm of Sloth', and both the english subbed version and the higer quality (because the english subbed version is crackly and that irks me) is availiable. Of course, they sound like the female Sins, the pitches how I imagine them to be, and their avatars being the Seven Stakes of Purgatory... Coincidence?

Well, apparently, according to the avatars, Greed is Lucifer, Pride is Leviathan, Sloth is Satan and Envy is Belphegor. So maybe not, but it's still a great song, even if it's Japanese and I only understand the random word like 'sky' and 'god'.

Rant aside, reviews are appreciated, and go vote on my poll. I even have a random option.


	21. Explosions

While he was making the desperate, hopeless run to the exit, Percy was surprised when Nico began to slip off of his shoulder. "Hey, Nico, wait!"

But the boy continued, sliding until Percy was no longer able to support him properly. The son of Hades was dropped, and Percy turned to try and help him again.

Instead, he was met with glowing teal eyes, and a dual voice shouting a word from an unrecognizable language. Probably Latin.

The word caused an explosion, something with a force strong enough to blast all of them straight out of the lengthy cavern and back into the metal innards of the clocktower. Percy slammed into the wall, and was promptly used as a cushion for Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who was then squished by the flying Nico.

And once again, invulnerability saved him a lot of pain, time, and effort. Instead of wasting time on ambrosia, nectar or bandages, Percy was able to jump to his feet and check on Nico immediately. "Nico?" he grabbed the son of Hades by the shoulders, hoping he had imagined those glowing teal eyes set within the boy's face.

That wish didn't come true. The eyes, instead of being dark, were the bright shade he had seen in a dream not so long ago. "…Sloth?"

"Yes?" Percy cringed at the voice. It was Nico's, but it was also Sloth's, the female and male entwining into one androgynous voice that sounded so wrong to him. It sent chills down his spine.

"What is this?" he demanded when he was able to speak. "Why are you in his body? I thought we were only supposed to help you be free, and then you would wake up the world!"

Unblinking aquamarine eyes stared back, the glow fading slightly. "That was before your cousin's blood absorbed me. As it is, I can only inhabit Lord Nico's body until my own is vacant, or destroyed."

He heard Rachel stretch to her feet, groaning in pain. "Yeah? And what if that never happens?"

Nico's face morphed into a disdainful face of an aristocrat. "Don't be ridiculous, Lord Percy," Sloth sniffed through Nico. "That would be quite impossible."

She seemed rather overconfident to him, but Percy didn't get a chance to properly think this through, because at that moment, there were several explosions from the top of the clocktower.

"Time to leave, I think," and Nico's body leapt nimbly down the stairs, nearly flying as his feet barely skimmed the surface. "Oh, and Acedia will retrieve Lord Leo quite safely," the words floated up to his ears easily, despite the increasing distance between them.

Percy winced in guilt. He had forgotten about the last member of their party. He didn't doubt Sloth's promise, but still…

Acedia was a house cat.

Rachel jerked him out of his thoughts by grabbing his arm and pulling him down. Recovering, he began to run down the stairs, feet pounding and sending unpleasant vibrations to his knees. Percy gritted his teeth and continued to run.

The explosions above their heads continued.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

If – when – Leo ever managed to get back to camp, he would track down the person who made the orientation film and thank them for telling him that his ADHD were actually battle reflexes making him impossible to catch while fighting. Knowing this made all the difference as he ducked, dodged and all but danced. If he'd been able to do this in dodgeball….

A gust of wind, sharp and deadly as a razor, slashed at his side, just nicking him and drawing blood. Almost impossible. Not as great as impossible, but pretty good, as long as that small difference didn't kill him.

"Just a little more!" Jason called, still hacking furiously, his arms nothing but blurs as he doubled his efforts.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Leo noticed Piper cupping her hands around her mouth. "Stop, _venti_!" she called, only her voice was different. More confident. More sure of herself. And there was something in it that you just wanted to listen to. "Stop fighting the demigod!"

They, naturally, didn't listen, although he thought their actions were now more sluggish, not as sure.

In a stroke of luck, Leo's wildly swinging dagger managed to stab one of the evil storm angel spirit, making it burst into the nasty yellow powder. One down, two to go.

"Don't kill, maim, injure, harm, or hate the demigod!" Piper continued, still speaking in that positive tone of hers. Yup, those attacks were definitely getting weaker.

One of the storm spirits made the mistake of flying near the cage, and found himself stabbed by a golden blade. While the owner turned the weapon back to cutting the golden bars, Leo found himself fighting the last guy, a spirit with an awfully familiar face.

"Yo, Valdez!" the anemone greeted him, that unnaturally bright smile turned down in a grimace of annoyance now. "Sad to see you're alive."

"Dylan," Leo didn't know how to do cool banter in fights. Camp, with all of its cool classes, did not have one for quick thinking on the battle spot for witty comments. "So you're an evil guy. Why am I not surprised?"

Yeah, that one was lame.

What was even lamer was that he made a stupid mistake. The hand with the stupidly short blade shot past Dylan, who had dodged, and that overdoing motion threw him off balance for a second. Long enough for the _anemoi thuellai_ jock to slam into him in full force of the wind, throwing him past the ledge.

Leo thought he heard Piper screaming and the guy named Jason yell curses, but he was currently too occupied by the length of his short life flashing in front of his eyes.

That is, until he managed to grab onto a ledge with one of his hands. Quickly, he grabbed that ledge with his other hand, and tried to find that upper body strength to pull himself up. When Coach Hedge had told them that it would come in handy someday... he hadn't quite guessed it would be for something like this.

"Uh, guys?" he yelled up, trying to find somewhere to dig his feet into. "A little help here!"

"Hurry, Jason!" Piper's voice could be heard urging. The sound of metal slicing metal grew louder, but somehow, Leo knew that the time would be too short.

At least there was one consolation to this; Dylan was no longer here. Leo hoped that he had impaled himself onto the now-lost dagger, and died stupidly.

His left hand was going numb with the strain, and slippery with sweat. He wasn't going to be able to keep this up, and then when he gave out…

Terrifying images. Would he die instantly? Where would he go, exactly? Leo had lost focus around that part of the film, and had instead made mechanical spiders, something that scared the Athena kid who had come in to lead him around. Amusing, but when he'd seen the amount of terror the guy had been in, Leo had promised to not do that again.

Now he was hanging by his fingertips. The ground was so far. That distance would kill him. Not cripple, not injure. Kill.

His fingertips slipped, and Leo shut his eyes as he began to plummet.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"Up!" one of the wind monsters burst into the cabin, cutting through their bonds with a flick of his fingers. "Get up!"

Gold crawled to her feet, wincing in pain as her blood flowed through her hands again. Ouch.

"Come on!" he grabbed them by the scruffs of their necks, clothing and skin, and began to haul them out. Yelping in pain, the two stumbled along with him, half-dragged into the emptied pool.

The black-garbed Sloth stood there, pacing anxiously. "Ready them," she ordered, not even looking at them.

Rough hands grabbed them, and before she could blink, Gold found herself forced to the ground, her neck resting on a wooden block similar to an execution block. A chill ran down her spine as she noticed the brown splotches on the wood, what must have been a coloured liquid now dried. Trying to not throw up, she pulled and tugged at her holders, but they had hands like iron clamps, not letting her get loose.

On the other side, Silver struggled on her own blood-stained block, but she didn't seem to have too much luck either.

Above them, a painfully bright light turned on, and Gold shut her eyes at the burning sensation.

"Who's first?" Mistress Sloth asked quietly.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Rachel panted, clutching at the stitches in her sides as she crumpled on the ground. Percy wiped at his brows, pulling his sword out from his pockets, and Nico's body didn't even seem affected.

Probably Sloth in him.

"Ready?" Nico's mouth formed the question, and there _was_ his voice in that chorus, but there was also Sloth's voice, and she refused to call that hybrid Nico. Not until Sloth removed herself from him, anyways.

"For what?" Percy questioned.

Nico's mouth twisted into a dazed smile. "For visitors, of course."

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Something huge, dark, and fast overshadowed his vision, interrupting Leo's short life flashing by. Two sharp things sliced into the back of his neck, and miraculously, those things now grabbing him partly by his skin and mostly by his shirt tugged him up, depositing him onto the edge of the clocktower.

For a moment, Leo just sat, catching his breath and trying to still get the fact that he was alive.

"Um, Leo?" Piper asked. Leo frowned. There was something in her voice that told him she was trying to calm down, not freak him out, or freak out herself. "Don't turn around."

Being extremely ADHD, Leo turned around.

And found himself face to face with a white tiger with greenish-blue, bluish green eyes that were unmistakably intelligent and familiar.

"Please tell me you're Acedia," he begged the big, hungry looking tiger.

Thankfully, it nodded.

Leo's eyes rolled back in relief, and it took all of his almost-nonexistent concentration for him to not fall unconscious in thankfulness. "And, uh, you won't eat me, right?"

She rolled her eyes, but nodded.

It was then he noticed Jason still hacking away at the cage. The bars were halfway cut, but the blond seemed rather frustrated at the lack of progress.

Leo looked back to the yawning white tiger, trying to avoid looking at the sharp, pointy teeth, and wondered briefly; would she be able to free them?

Well, if Luxuria could turn into a car, then what could Acedia do? Other than nap on laps, find hidden tunnels, or turn into vicious, terrifying cousins of a mere house cat?

"Acedia?" the tiger looked up at its – _her_, he reminded himself. Acedia was a living, breathing creature – her name being called. "Can you get my friends out of this cage?"

It dawned on him then, just how stupid he must have seemed, asking a large, possibly bloodthirsty cat to open a cage.

Acedia got to her feet, and padded over lazily. Leo braced himself for the worst, but she merely slipped past him on the narrow ledge, her balance steady as – well, steady as a cat, and nosed the strange obsidian lock. The stone flashed teal, and the golden lock popped open, letting the door to the large birdcage hang open.

Jason helped Piper out first, and then tossed his sword up. Leo's eyes widened, first wondering if this dude was insane, and then at shock as it flipped into a golden coin.

The demigod life was definitely odd.

The blond guy shoved his coin into his pocket and climbed out, crawling on the ledge before managing to straighten to his feet. "This beast is yours?" he asked, nodding to Acedia.

Leo opened his mouth to answer but a snorting sound cut him off. And the only one in that direction was Acedia…

"No," Leo answered vocally.

"Will it eat me?" he asked, hand warily straying to his pocket where Leo had seen him just stash the golden coin/sword.

"No," he answered. "Probably," Leo added, just in case.

Jason's expression didn't seem too calm at the uncertainty.

"Well, she never tried to eat me, and neither did Luxuria, so-" he cut himself off at the confused expression. "Right. You don't know Luxuria."

"Lust?" Jason asked, eyebrows raised in confusion. "So Sloth and Lust tried to eat you?"

"What? No, man! Lust was a fairly nice dude! Sweet wheels, generous with the gifts, not at all hungry. Except on the nicotine, maybe. That, I think he had an addiction to."

"But you just said Lust and Sloth didn't try to eat you?" He was asking for clarification now.

Huh. And Aunt Rosa had said that the day anyone asks _him_ for clarification was the day the world ended.

"No, man, I said _Luxuria_ and _Acedia_; not _Lust_ and _Sloth_! Sides, Sloth was somewhat nice, too. Helps that she's hot, and calls me a Lord and everything…."

"You met Sloth?" Now it was Piper with wide eyes, cutting in between them to question him. Leo might have said something snarky or witty on that, but he saw the panic in her eyes.

"Not physically. Apparently, she lost her body to some faker, and so she sent us a dream to rescue her."

"_'Us'_?" Jason interrupted.

"Yeah," Leo gestured around vaguely. "Me, Rachel, Percy, and Nico…."

His quest members were too silent at their introduction. And then, remembering, Leo hit himself on his forehead. "Dang it! I left them behind!"

And, of course, with his luck, that was when the lock exploded right in all of their faces.


	22. Reunited

She was insane.

Gold watched, as she first questioned who wanted to go first – whatever _that_ meant – and then pace around the pool, chewing her nails nervously.

That wasn't all she noticed. Sloth had been remarkably pretty when Gold had first seen her, but now, it was as if she was on drugs, her beauty deteriorating away to leave behind nothing but a shell, a shade of her former glory.

"What time is it?" she snapped at one of the assembled winds.

The spirit who dragged them here seemed calmer. "Not much left now, lady," he assured her.

Gold didn't like the sound of that, and judging from the look on Silver's face, she guessed that Silver didn't either.

"So tired," she mumbled. "If it weren't for him, I'd have never…"

She took a shuddering breath. "Not much longer now," she mumbled, slapping at her cheeks. "Not much longer…."

From the northern side of the hotel, Gold suddenly heard explosions and screams. She tried to look, but all she could manage to get a glimpse of was the top of the clocktower, damaged and destroyed from something.

Had someone been on there? If so, were they hurt, or worse, _dead_?

Her captors didn't seem too worried. "Your timing is absolutely terrible," Sloth told the wind man next to her.

The monster merely shrugged. "Drink another one," he suggested, holding out a golden vial.

She grabbed it, and chugged it down, before throwing the empty vial away. "Better," she admitted.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

The lock exploding wasn't too strong. Barely enough for the ground to shake a bit, disrupt everyone, and thrown them off their feet a bit.

Problem was, on top of a tall clocktower, far above the steady ground, it could be deadly. The repercussions were enough to throw all of them off.

"Holy crap!" he managed to shout in English before moving onto say something about his situation in Spanish. If he was going to die, really die at this exact moment without someone to save him, he wanted to speak both languages before going.

A hand grabbed his wrist and yanked him through the air. Leo looked up to see Jason, who was straining for something as he held Piper in his other arm. "Can't – control – the – _wind_!" he gasped out.

Now that he mentioned it, Leo could feel the wind, trying to support his weight enough to save him. They were slowing, but only to a miniscule amount that wouldn't possibly be enough for them to be saved.

A flailing black blur latched itself onto Jason, and stilled. Acedia, back to being a small and less threatening kitty. The black cat also furrowed its brows in concentration, and Leo thought, for a split second, that the teal eyes on this weird thing were glowing.

Whether it was the cat on his shoulders or something else, Jason's face relaxed a bit, as the winds seemed to move around them more noticeably than before, pulling at their fall. They began to slow, going from falling to gliding down to the ground gently. As they landed, Leo was reminded of that nanny who flew around with the kids she was supposed to take care of. "Next time," he said aloud. "Piper should wear one of those Victorian dresses, and carry around an umbrella."

Piper was too busy gawking at Jason to retort to that. "You never told me you can _fly_!"

Leo looked around, surveying the place of his could-have-been death, and stopped dead. "Guys?"

Jason shuffled slightly in his feet. "I forgot?"

"Um, guys?"

"How do you forget you can _fly_?"

"_Guys_!"

At the cat hissing at their feet and Leo urgently interrupting, they finally snapped out of their talk, only to see what they'd been missing.

About a hundred of those anemias or whatever they were called surrounded them all. A silent circle of living wind that he knew could get deadly fast.

And he didn't even have his borrowed dagger anymore.

Only two words came to his mind now. "We're screwed."

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"Stay silent," Sloth warned them via Nico's lips. "Lady Rachel?"

"Yes?" she didn't quite meet his/her eyes.

"You have the net, I presume?"

The net. She'd forgotten about it all. Removing her backpack, she stabbed her hand into the pack, and yelped at the sudden pain from jabbing her hand on the corner of something hard and sharp.

For a moment, Rachel wondered just what it had been. And then, she remembered. The book, the guide on the Sins she had found at the church. She'd forgotten about that, too.

She'd read it later. Rachel took out the net, careful to not let the book be seen, and zipped it closed. "Here."

Sloth shook Nico's head. "Not me. When we start fighting, wait until I give the signal, and then throw the net over the girl dressed in black. She's in my body, so I'm sure you know what she'll look like.

"Lord Percy? I'm afraid your task will have you hacking down any _anemoi_ _thuellai_ that does not acknowledge me."

"And if they do acknowledge you?"

Nico's lips turned up into a faint, aristocratic smile. "Then they will run away like all of Tartarus is after them."

"Great, so when do we start?"

"How about now?"

They all whirled around at the new voice. From where they were crouching, behind the pool furniture, the already tall man appeared absolutely gigantic. His arms – and to be fair, his entire _body_ – was one mass of huge muscles. To make it worse, he had weapons practically dripping off of him. Set in his dark, coffee-coloured face were a pair of blazing, fire-red eyes. "Seems like we have visitors."

**~\-Sloth-/~**

One of the wind things stepped forward and became solid, into a deceiving appearance of a teenage guy. "What do you want?" he asked, but there was no menace in it.

"Ummm," Leo tried to be polite. "To not die?"

The kid/monster actually cracked a smile. "As do I, demigod, as do I."

Behind them all, the silent winds surrounding them could be heard chuckling quietly. Leo relaxed. Laughter he could deal with. No problem. "Well then, it's obvious what we have to do," he told them earnestly. "You let us go, we leave you alone."

The smile disappeared off the representative's face. "I'm afraid to say, at the risk of being clichéd, that your suggestion is impossible."

"It's because I'm part Latino, isn't it?" he complained in an overdramatic way, but no one laughed now. "Alright, then," he said, trying to be more serious. "Why?"

The humanized wind hesitated. "We… we have orders. From our lady. And even if she's not quite…"

"Seth!" an outraged cry came from behind, and someone pushed their way through to come into the cleared circle. This one solidified into a rather pretty girl, who Leo would have totally asked out if she wasn't, well, a monster. "She's perfectly fine!"

"She isn't!" there was an audible gasp, the kind that came when all of the people in a crowd drew in their breaths in shock. "There! I said it! Lady Sloth is not herself!"

"Look," Leo began at the uncomfortable silence. "Um, we demigods," he gestured around, including Piper and Jason in case they wanted to eat them. "We knew that Sloth isn't exactly herself right now. That's why we came to fix her, see? So really, there's no need for any fighting."

"What is he doing?" Leo heard Jason hiss to Piper.

"I have absolutely no idea," she whispered back.

"Little trust here?" he shout-whispered to them.

"Sorry," they replied, sheepish.

"_Mrow_."

Seth and the girl, and for that matter, the entire wind spirits surrounding them, looked down at Acedia. "_Meow_," she mewed insistently.

_Anemoi threwly_, or whatever they were called, gathered and trying to not kill like all hostile monsters was said to attempt. All quiet and listening to a cat meow intelligently. Boys and girls flying off an exploding clocktower. Sure, why not?

"Truly?" Seth asked the cat.

"_Meow_."

"That explains a great deal," he muttered.

It didn't to Leo, but then again, he didn't really speak Cat. Only English, Spanish, and apparently Ancient Greek, though he still wasn't sure how that last one worked. Bad as he was in biology, even he knew that knowledge of language wasn't something passed on by blood.

"A great deal indeed," he continued, and straightened up. "We will leave," he announced. "Acedia has confirmed that you are, indeed, here to aid Lady Sloth. Our presence will merely disturb you, and possibly lead you to failure."

The wind monsters seemed to have been waiting for that. They all left, going off to someplace, and hopefully out of their lives forever. He did not like those evil winds.

Only Seth and the girl were left. "Good luck, son of Hephaestus."

"Wait," Jason protested, stepping forward.

"Yes?" the boy/monster raised his eyebrow.

"Why do you follow Sloth?"

The girl bristled at the casual use of her name, but Seth seemed more lax about it. If he wasn't a monster, Leo would have liked to hang out with this guy. "Who would not follow such a marvelous radiance?" he asked. "Lady Sloth is powerful, and when she reaches the peak of her supremacy and becomes the supernova, all the winds in the world will prostrate to her with the utmost bliss, learning true joy at their true master's return."

Leo had no idea what some of those words meant, but it sounded like she was a celebrity to them.

"And, son of Jupiter?" he added. "Bite your tongue, and do not leap to rash conclusions. Learn. Be flexible, or you will break in the harsh winds to come."

A monster philosopher. Seth changed into his other, windier form, and Leo changed the nickname to 'the wind monster philosopher'. It seemed more fitting.

"Go, demigods!" he promised. "Help the lady, and the winds will not harm you of their own will!"

The last of them disappeared, and the supposed fight was over. Leo had to ask the cat something about that. "Hey, Acedia?"

The cat looked at him.

"Would they have eaten us or something if you haven't interfered?"

She nodded.

Behind him, Leo heard Jason mutter something about it being creepy. He realized that in the short time, he'd gotten too used to this cat.

Whether that was a good thing or not, Leo didn't know. "Where to now?"

Instead of actually answering vocally like he was expecting, she merely trotted off to some direction.

They followed like obedient sheep.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"That's what our leader would say while sipping tea," the man amended, cracking his knuckles casually. Despite the friendly cover, Percy thought that this man could make a rainbow-coloured lollipop threatening. There was just something about him. "But I'm not her, so I'll say this; intruders must die."

Next to him, out of the corner of his eyes, Percy saw Nico stand up. Or Sloth. Either one, really. "Your fake aura resembles Wrath," Nico and Sloth's voices, merged together at the moment, mused aloud. "But your eyes are certainly those of Gluttony's. Yet you are clearly not either one of my brothers, although I must applaud you for your similarities to Wrath. Who are you?"

The man seemed startled at the quick analysis, and then grinned, seeing Nico's new teal eyes. "Lady Sloth!" he laughed. "Oh, to see you in such an insignificant vessel… how the tables have turned!"

Sloth bared Nico's teeth in a silent snarl, and the young boy's face was transformed to terrifying with the glowing teal eyes.

The man, despite his intimidating aura, stepped back, cowed. It might have actually been funny in other circumstances, where the large, powerful man was backing up from a scrawny kid in black.

"_Fear_," Sloth's voice was more dominant at that, as she spat the word out like it was chewed up gum. "Of course _you_ would be seen in _this_."

He sneered, and grabbed a wicked sharp blade from his belt. "I wouldn't be so smug if I were you."

"This coming from a low-life such as you," she rolled the eyes set in Nico's face. "My cat could take you down easily."

It was like the cat with the matching aquamarine eyes had been waiting for the signal. Fear got hit in the back of his head with a flying furball, and the huge man went down screaming from the claws digging into his scalp and face.

Ouch.

Following the cat, two boys and a girl ran up to them. Leo was one of them, and his friend, the one that had been kidnapped, was the girl, but he didn't recognize the last one.

The stranger's eyes, a familiar shade of blue he couldn't place, widened. "You!" he pointed to Fear. "You're that Sin!"

"Since when was Fear a Sin?" Rachel murmured to Percy, who had only been thinking that a guy named Fear should be radiating something like the Helm of Darkness.

"I'm not a Sin!" the man snarled at all of them, while Nico's body turned to face the general direction of everyone. "He's not a Sin!"

Rachel held her hands up in a surrendering gesture. "Alright, alright!"

The blond guy seemed confused. "But you said to me, 'Never trust a Sin'," he told Fear, who was now pinned to the ground by a much larger Acedia. So the cat could turn into a panther, and the wolf could turn into a sweet car.

He thought the wolf was better. He was just saying, but a fancy sports car beat a vicious cat, any day for him.

Fear opened his mouth, but whatever he'd been meaning to say, Percy never got to hear it.

"So much noise," a quiet voice complained gently.

The girl – Piper, was it? – looked stricken. "Sloth," she whispered.

She may have had been misinformed, but Percy turned around to see what she was gawking at.

Behind them, while they'd all been distracted by the general fiasco, a girl in black had climbed up the walls of the pool, and now stood straight. Despite being only around ten or eleven, there was definitely power around her. Her face was younger, and so much more stressed, but it was the same one he'd seen in the group dream when Sloth had come asking for help. The only difference was that her eyes were an unremarkable brown.

Which meant that she was the imposter.

* * *

I'm writing as fast as I can... which isn't easy, considering the amount of homework I get.

I own nothing, reviews are very welcomed.


	23. Body Swap

Percy had seen a lot of pre-battle banter, where the words were cruel, witty, insulting, or downright stupid. He'd exchanged a few words, too.

There was no exchange of verbal slaughter before the physical slaughter now. Sloth grabbed Nico's sword hanging from his belt, three feet of nightmare black iron gleaming threateningly, and charged. At the same time, Fear managed to throw Acedia off.

"Lady Rachel!" Sloth shouted as she used Nico's body to slash and hack at the black-garbed girl inhabiting her real body. "The net!"

Percy pulled out Riptide, but he was uncertain. What did he do first? Nico's body and Sloth were busy fighting the fake Sloth, Rachel was trying to throw the net over the fake Sloth and having little success, Acedia was charging at Fear, now a snarling tiger that had to be more than four hundred pounds, and the rest of the demigods were helping them. He wanted to join, but it wasn't a good strategy, crowding against one enemy like that. They could end up hurting each other.

Then, he saw Bianca at the bottom of the pool, and all thoughts vanished. He had always felt guilty and responsible for her death, even long after she and Nico had forgiven him. Now, she lay at the bottom of the drained pool with another girl opposite of her, like some re-enacted execution scene from history.

It could have not been her. It could have been a trap.

Percy didn't exactly have the time to think over the plan for this, because he was already leaping in recklessly to the bottom of the empty pool.

Annabeth would have his invulnerable hide if she knew about this.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

_Ow_! Nico yelled into his mind. His body was moving at the will of another, and his voice wasn't his at the moment, so Nico wasn't able to vocally express his pain at smashing his toe into a chair leg. _Would you please be careful? This is my body, you know!_

_Sorry_, Sloth replied, tensing as she dodged the next strike and answered with her own, the black blade of Stygian Iron lashing at the young-looking girl. _His_ black blade of Stygian Iron. _But I'm not used to fighting in another body! Really, your vessel is less than satisfactory at best._

_Gee, thanks._

Inside his own mind, Nico watched the battle through both his and Sloth's eyes. While the sharp senses of a standard demigod caught most of the action, Sloth was using his body to spin, strike, and fight, quick as… well, quick as the wind. It was hard for him to catch everything, especially with the added bonus of having Sloth sharing his body.

Sharing. More like _hogging_.

Her view made it possible for him to see other things. On how certain things had a certain glow to them, like heat vision or something like that. Everything seemed to have a colour tint, and only he had been the one to really understand what Sloth had meant when she had told Fear that he was similar to Wrath, but with Gluttony's eyes. The man was wrapped in forest green, with blood red around his general eye area.

It was nice seeing the 'auras', but it was giving him a headache, and made him mistake a lot of sights.

_Doesn't this make it hard for you to see_? He asked into the spaces of his now-conjoined mind.

_Not really_, she gave something like a mental shrug_. I can turn it off if you want._

_That would be nice_, he admitted, and the colours dissipated, giving him a normal view. _Much better._

Now able to focus, Nico saw Percy leap into the drained pool in what felt like HD. _What is he doing?_

And then, he saw her. Black hair, olive skin, silver clothing, although they were battered and dirty, and the familiar face.

_BIANCA!_ He screamed, and felt Sloth pause for a fraction of a second, distracted by him. The fake Sloth, using some kind of riding crop, lashed out at his hand, wrapping the silvery material around his skin before tightening it. Blood spurted out, and it dug in deeper with hidden barbs of a sort.

He didn't feel it. Bianca was alive. And, he noticed, lying on some kind of block like a common criminal from older times. As if she was waiting to be executed.

Rage boiled in him, and because of that anger, he became acutely aware of everything and anything around and in him. Within him, Nico could feel the magic of Sloth, the divinity of his father's blood flowing in his veins, and his birthright. So much ammunition, and all they needed was a tiny little command.

Something in him sparked, the tiny little dot of light quickly swelling inside of him, flooding every last bit of his body with power, and exploded out of him, every last bit of that firepower at his command.

The energy, something black and teal, rolled off from him to the crop still in contact with his body, and clenched the fake Sloth. Those brown eyes widening in shock, she tried to struggle, but was swallowed up by the ever-expanding energy, all coming from him. Wrapped inside his magic, he laughed sadistically as the imposter writhed and dissolved into nothing.

So much power! He could see why the gods had so many monsters with grudges against them and their children for some curse or punishment. Nothing was to go against him, or they would suffer!

_Lord Nico, control yourself!_ He heard Sloth try to tell him, but he didn't care. His sister. Back from the dead. He had given up reviving her back in the Labyrinth, choosing to instead free the inventor's soul and let him go to the Underworld at long last, but here she was, alive again. Bianca was the top priority. The ones against that goal were against him.

All those against him had to pay the price and die.

_Oh, and now my _sister's_ influence is in you,_ she chided. _Because Wrath alone wasn't bad enough. _Nico frowned. An annoying voice. Pest.

Dimly, Nico got the feeling that she was raising an eyebrow. _Oh, is that what you think?_ And before he could answer, she struck first. _Let us sleep…._

He'd have liked to say that he was able to fight her influence, and continue to destroy everything like a boss.

The truth? He conked out.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"Bianca!" Percy yelled, slashing through some _anemoi thuellai_ effortlessly with Riptide.

Her eyes widened, and she looked up, her face contorted in pained confusion and struggles to remember something. "Percy?"

But it was more of a question, asking if he was someone named Percy, rather than confirming it in disbelief.

He'd figure it out later. Some wind monster in a jersey was pulling them together to the center of the pool and holding them down, yelling at the others to hurry up, that time was up.

He charged them, Riptide now destroying everything in his way. But he didn't get there in time.

Two other spirits came up and slashed at the throats of the girls with a strange dagger, and blood, twin fountains of red, viscous liquid spurted out to the ground.

The _anemoi thuellai_ in the football jersey released them and flew away, out of his sight and reach before he could blink. The other two weren't so lucky, and found themselves reduced to monster dust.

"Oh man, oh man," Percy knelt, all but throwing Riptide to the side as he tried to help Bianca and the other girl. Gingerly, through the blood, he tried to hold their skins together to hold the blood in. It still oozed out, and Bianca tried to say something to him. Her words were muffled by the blood filling her mouth, and he tried to lean closer, when someone lightly tapped his shoulder.

Nico – Sloth – was there, putting both hands on their wounds. "Move, Lord Percy," was all she said. Percy's skin crawled at how little of Nico's voice was in the mix. It was almost all Sloth's low voice now.

He stepped back, still dazed and covered in blood, when a teal light glowed from Nico's hands, no doubt that it was Sloth behind it. They really needed a new colour change.

The light covered the wound, and when it faded, they were as good as new.

"Percy?" Bianca's eyes were filled with recognition and remembrance. "How am I even…?"

The other girl screamed, clutching her head.

"Gold!" Bianca ran to the other girl, concern evident in her eyes. "Gold, look at me! Look at me!"

"My mother!" she screamed, her golden eyes wide with terror. "Oh, god, Silver, my mother! She's… and then the voice… and the thing that she made me do!"

Bianca wrapped her – Gold? – In her arms, rocking back and forth comfortingly like a mother would despite the similarities in age. "Breathe," she ordered calmly. "Just breathe deeply, and breathe out."

Percy decided that it would be wise to give them room. He had to go to the shallow end of the pool to get a grip, and then lift himself up to get on the ground again.

Acedia had Fear pinned again to the ground, and this time, Rachel had wrapped him in the net they'd retrieved. It couldn't have been more than a few hours since then… yet it felt like days.

Leo and Piper were talking to each other in hushed, worried tones; Rachel was busy tying a bandage around some of her wounds, which left the blond guy open. He seemed rather awkward, just standing there with one hand in his pocket.

Why not.

"Hey," Percy nodded to the blond. He nodded back, giving nothing away. "I'm Percy," he offered his hand.

The guy, only a year or two younger than him, took it and shook the extended hand firmly. "Jason."

"Are you a…" it suddenly struck him just how odd it would seem if he randomly asked someone if they were a son of a mortal and a god.

Fortunately, Jason smiled at that. "A demigod?" he guessed. "Yes, I am."

"You knew?"

"Since I was little."

"Oh. Son of who?"

Jason hesitated. "I'd rather not say," he muttered, closing up again.

Must have been a touchy subject. "Sorry," he apologized.

"Nah, don't be."

The silence was just awkward, and both shuffled a bit, trying to lessen the discomfort.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"Ngh…." Nico opened his eyes, finding himself lying on the ground. His head lay resting on something hard, and he was looking up to the recognizable ceiling of the Lotus Hotel and Casino where he and Bianca had-

Bianca.

He sat up, and winced at the rushing pain to his head. It felt like someone had decided to hit him with a baseball bat.

"Nico?"

"Bianca?" he tried to reach out, and his outstretching fingers met with a pair of shaking hands. "Bianca?"

"Oh, Nico," her voice broke, and arms wrapped around him as the familiar scent of his sister filled his nose.

His vision cleared, and saw that it was, indeed, Bianca who was hugging him and crying into his shirt. She looked thin, and malnourished, but it was her all the same, alive and well.

And that made everything definitely worth it.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"We should get going."

Rachel looked up to see Sloth sitting on one of the pool chairs. No longer in Nico's body, she was almost the same as she had been in her dream, except she wore modern clothing. A pair of shorts, flip-flops, and a t-shirt that had a pattern of Egyptian writing in a steady stream flying out of a pyramid.

Maybe she really _had_ wanted to be freed from the corset after all.

"Why?" Not that she disagreed or anything, but Sloth seemed nervous.

"Healing, creating a new vessel, having my energy stolen by a mere demigod all right after being imprisoned…" Sloth smiled tiredly. "It means that I am rather drained at the moment. I may not be able to defend you or myself if my captors come again."

"What about Lust?" she asked, getting to her feet and putting her arms through the straps of her backpack. "He's waiting outside for you."

She thought Sloth might have looked happier. Instead, her forehead creased a bit as she turned thoughtful. "Yes, there's Lust, too…."

"You forgot about your own brother?" Rachel raised an eyebrow. Gods did that all the time, because they were a family mess, but it couldn't have been hard for Sloth.

"It was a possibility I hadn't considered," she admitted, and got to her feet.

* * *

Everything seems to be ending well... or is it?

Hint for next chapter: The most common theme (in my opinion) will be a factor in the next chapter.

And can anyone get the Evillious Reference of this chapter?


	24. Betrayed by Lust

"Dionysus!"

The wine god turned from his Pac-man game. "Yes?"

Apollo stood behind him, an odd look on his face. "Can you see anything in Vegas?" He was too serious to be just doing this for fun.

Frowning at the question his half-brother was asking, the god of party time closed his eyes, and visualized that city in his mind, trying to see what was happening there.

He saw nothing.

"No," he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose as he focused and tried again, only to fail. "I can't."

"I see," Apollo said quietly. Then, he burst into a flash of sunlight that would have been blinding for anyone else, disappearing from his view.

Dionysus stood there, divine mind racing away at just what could have been happening, until the sound chirped from the machine behind him, informing him of his death. "Damn you!"

**~\-Sloth-/~**

To be honest, Rachel was tensed up. She was waiting for the other shoe to drop on all of them, any second now.

Why? This was only her second quest, but even she knew that quests were supposed to be filled with danger at every corner, with only a few breaks. On her first quest, she'd played a far more important part. That had been the only reason she, a mere mortal, had been allowed to tag along, because she was the only one who could navigate the Labyrinth.

All she'd done on this quest was grabbing a net, and throw it over a scary guy with a weird name. Not something only she could do.

Speaking of said scary guy, Sloth lurched over to her now-large and vicious feline and patted her head, before grabbing the edges of the net. "Drag him out, would you?"

The tiger bit the net, careful to not bite her mistress's hand, and began to head to the exit.

The people that hadn't been part of the quest flinched when Sloth walked closer to them, and shied away. The Sin ignored them, and only told them that they were leaving.

Nothing threatening or too exciting. So why was she so tense?

Rachel's fingers were whitening as her grip on her dagger just kept getting tighter and tighter. Anything could happen. A wind monster could come swooping out of the shadows of this huge hotel. Fear could break out, and they could get mowed down before being able to do anything.

And then, the prophecy itself wasn't complete. No one had been sleeping, no one waking up in Sleeping Beauty style, nothing like that. To be frank, only the _One mortal and demigods three__/__Chosen by the identical dreams_were the lines fulfilled.

Maybe the Spirit of the Oracle was botched? Or was she not seeing something here?

Rachel hated not seeing something. Her clear sight was something she was proud of, and the thought of being partly blind wasn't too great.

Acedia left the building first, butting the door open easily with her large head before dragging her captive out. The others left after, one by one, until it was only her and Sloth remaining within the Lotus Hotel.

Their eyes met, and Sloth smiled that tired smile. "Thank you," she said softly.

Rachel didn't know what she was thanking her for. Maybe Sloth was just too shy to thank them all at the same time. Rachel headed out, and Sloth trailed behind.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

She had half-expected to see an army waiting to ambush the lot of them. Certainly wouldn't have been the first time. But no, no one was there except Lust, who was sitting on a chair he'd pulled from somewhere.

Now, Rachel knew that she was the Oracle, which meant that she was supposed to stay an eternal virgin and all… but _damn_, this guy was hot. Lust had discarded his semi-formal wear, and instead opted to change into a set of Greek armour, hammered out of some kind of black metal that just made him look so much hotter and muscular. At his side hung a sword, and he had around his shoulders a purple cloak.

"Sloth," he smiled warmly, and besides her, Rachel noticed Piper gawking at the man, face beet red. She probably looked the same. "You're back."

Then, he frowned, and his handsome face… still looked handsome, albeit a little fierce. "Is that Fear? He looks like Wrath, and a bit like Gluttony."

"One day, I want to see Wrath and Gluttony," muttered Nico, tugging at Bianca's arm. "Stop staring at Lust; you're a Hunter, remember?"

"It is," Sloth agreed. "Acedia, let him go."

"What?" Rachel turned to Sloth to see just what was wrong with her, only Acedia released her jaws, and Fear ripped himself out. But instead of lunging at anyone, he only ripped the net off himself and threw it aside, and stood, glaring at nothing in particular.

"What are you doing, Sloth?" Lust raised an eyebrow. "Surely you remember what a pest he was in that _pithos_?"

"And you were the bullies," Fear reminded him. Lust scowled at him, and he cowered back. "Sorry, sorry!"

"I must be getting old," Sloth smiled bitterly as Acedia came to her, the predator muscles tensed. "I didn't realize until now, when you didn't shred Fear to pieces the instant you saw him."

"Realize what?" Lust stepped forward, but Sloth's eyes flashed, and he stopped. "Sister, what _are_ you talking about?"

She straightened herself, and her attire changed from the modern clothes to a set of armour similar to Lust's; black metal protective clothing, teal cloak, the works. Only her side was empty of a weapon, and that was because Acedia had leapt forward to be a sword. Sloth caught it and twirled it single-handedly, and pointed it at Lust's throat.

The blade of the sword, like Nico's own, was made of a black metal, but the black had rainbow coloured veins scattered across the blade, like a stone with different colours threaded within it. At the hilt – or pommel, she wasn't sure about the parts of the sword – was a cracked crystal orb with some shards missing. Like everything with Sloth, it was teal. This girl needed a lesson in colour variety.

"Would you like an explanation?" she continued on without waiting for his answer. "My kidnappers were the Earthborn. Only, right before their attack, I had just lulled Gaea and the Giants to sleep for another few _decades_, at the least. So who gave them the power to fight a Sin, and the knowledge to take one down?"

"The Virtues?" he suggested, eyeing the blade that had been Acedia. Rachel's own eyes fell to the sword at his side, and seeing the inlayed pictures of a wolf on the scabbard, she guessed that the sword was Luxuria.

"Except they wouldn't do that, because they have too much honour. And what of my guards? The only ones I could feel were the storm spirits, and they should have heard my commands to free me, even with the imposter posing as me while I was imprisoned. They should have obeyed. Instead, they acted as if they had not heard me, acting under the orders of someone who had just as great as an influence as I. But you know just as well that I have the strongest sway over wind."

"But the _anemoi thuellai_ are also part lightning," Rachel realized. "And if someone could control the parts of them that were lightning…"

"Only the storm spirits," Sloth continued. "No harpies, no _aurai_, despite the imposter having sway over wind. Odd, don't you think?"

"Perhaps it was some other lightning god?" Lust questioned, but there was something in his purple eyes, all but shouting it out loud that he was guilty. Rachel thought that he was trying to do this on purpose. Either that, or he was a really bad liar. "I know for a _fact_ that Set hates you because of that one botched up sandstorm."

"My influence would have been greater," she countered. "Only the influence of another Sin, one that wasn't trapped… and that, brother, is why you are the only one who could have done this."

"But you said Sloth was your favorite sister!" Leo blurted out. "And dude, I know you weren't lying about that."

Lust was fingering the edge of his purple cloak, looking like a brooding actor getting ready to shoot some scene filled with action and abs. "I wasn't," he said softly.

Sloth didn't lower Acedia. "You have absolutely no reason to betray me," she kept on talking, but she didn't seem threatening anymore. "Unless you were under direct orders."

Lust looked away, and even in the seriousness of the situation, she couldn't help but notice that he looked like a fallen angel. A glorious, sexy fallen angel that she wanted to paint one day. Preferably half naked. "You always were quick with your mind," his voice was tinged with brotherly pride and love.

"Orders from who?" Nico asked. "I thought you Sins would take orders from no one."

"Except ourselves," Lust told him, still staring at the ground shamefully. "We're divided into three, as Dante wrote. The Sins that count under misdirected love are under the rule of Pride, and the Sins of the excessive love must obey Greed. Only Sloth is excluded, because she is the lone one in the love that is deficient."

No one seemed to want to talk, but there was something within Rachel that urged her to go on, burning in her chest. "So why did they order you to betray her?"

It was Sloth who answered. "I went against them in the last council meeting, where we were discussing what to do. Wrath, as usual, wanted all of humanity dead, only Pride and Greed both agreed with it this time, something that happens every millennium or so," she smiled faintly. "I was the only one who could stand up to them. So I did."

"Remember?" Lust's voice was soft, gentle, and sad. "Pride threw a tantrum, and Greed just kept swearing."

Sloth smiled the same, sorrowful smile. "And Envy was angry that she couldn't have done anything. As usual."

Giving a chuckle, Lust drew his blade, identical to Sloth's, except the crystal was purple. Of course it was. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Don't be," Sloth shrugged, and fixed her position. "I always wanted to try and spar with you at your strongest, but you'd always purposely lose to me."

Lust looked directly into Rachel's eyes. "Stand back," he warned them all, and Rachel felt something appear within her pocket, as if someone had shoved it down there. Stepping back, she put her hands in her pockets, and her fingertips felt a small metal ring, and a piece of paper.

Rachel would have read the note, but at that moment, Lust slammed into Sloth, swinging his blade at her with a speed that could have rivalled a demigod's. The impact nearly knocked all of them off their feet, and she stumbled back trying to regain her balance.

Sloth blocked it, just as easily. And then it was more of a push and pull, where the blades, still locking, were strained as they both ground to a stop, neither giving ground.

Percy walked over, his own bronze sword in hand. "Do you think I should help?"

Sloth kicked Lust, and while he faltered, she pushed forward, and then leapt back, narrowly avoiding being sliced at with his sword. And then, it was Lust on the defensive, while Sloth hacked away. It didn't look like it would end soon.

"She looks tired," Jason suddenly spoke. Rachel wasn't much of a fighter, more of a seer, but when he mentioned it, even she could see it. The female Sin was moving slower, and her movements were sluggish compared to Lust. It was more like her sword had a mind of its own, and was defending both it and its owner from harm. Maybe it was. Acedia had been a pretty smart cat.

What had Sloth said? "She said that she was too drained of energy to properly defend herself or us."

"Did she now?" she flinched as Fear spoke. Rachel had forgotten that he was there, but now, he looked rather interested at what she had just said. "Did she really say she was that weak?"

Behind the large man, Nico shook his head, putting a finger to his lips and sending her a silent message. His sister was holding his other hand tightly, and staring at the fight with an emotion she couldn't place.

The blades were locked again, only this time, Sloth was definitely struggling to match the physical power Lust was using to push her back. That answered Fear's question better than any words Rachel could have said.

"Interesting," he grinned, and his teeth were sharp like a wolf. "Interesting."

The next thing she knew, something lean and hard smashed into her side, and she was thrown onto the side of the pavement. Her head hit a metal decoration outside, and she cried out in pain.

"Rachel!" cold hands shook her shoulders, and it took a moment for her vision to clear enough to see Nico's face without blurred edges. "Oh, good, you're awake."

Rachel tried to stand, but her legs gave out on her. In the far distance of the blue sky, she saw a dark figure growing smaller and smaller. "Fear?"

"Fled," another hand probed at her head cautiously. Rachel stiffened, before remembering the blond boy. Jake? Josh? No, it was Jason. "Nothing serious, I think. Got any ambrosia or nectar?"

"She can't have any," Nico told her, gently resting his cold hands around the area, not quite touching it. It felt rather nice. "She's mortal."

Jason gawked for a moment, making her uncomfortable, and then his face slipped into a polite mask. "Then you'll have to rest a bit."

She was grateful for that.

* * *

I couldn't quite end that right...

And the hint, in case none of you got it, was referring to betrayal.


	25. Tale of Sloth IV

The council of Sins were held, strangely, in a conference center in New York. Greed must have pulled some strings to get the grand room all for only seven people.

Sloth didn't complain. She just curled up in the chair that she changed to a large, soft sofa and closed her eyes. If there was anything important, Lust would wake her up. So, she sunk into her realm, and slept.

Or, she tried to anyways. Lust sent her a desperate wake-up call through their mental connection, filling her in on the situation. Wrath wanted humanity to pay for something or another. So did Greed and Pride.

Sloth woke up. The twins working together… She never thought she'd see the day. "Mother would be proud."

They ignored her. "Any objections?" the looks they sent to their siblings were clear.

The look Lust sent her, as well as the ones Gluttony and Envy sent her was just as.

"I do," she raised a hand. "And as procedure dictates…"

Pride gritted her teeth and began to read out the procedure that prevented something major taking action if one member disagreed. Sloth fell back asleep. She knew it by heart, anyways.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Sometime later, Lust woke her up again. "It's over, Sloth."

Yawning, she stood, smoothing out the wrinkles on her teal pantsuit. "Anything important?"

"Envy's done her project, as is Gluttony, and I have permission to build a new club," he grinned. "Right here in New York."

She just stared at him through half-lidded eyes.

"And this civilization won't fall now," he added, answering her unasked question. "Thanks to you."

Outside the room, a terrible scream ripped through the air, raising the small hairs on the back of her neck. In between the shrieks, a woman swearing in a large variety of languages could also be heard.

"And now she'll start some kind of earthquake that will kill millions," Lust told Sloth, patting her back. "I think that's a new record."

"McDonalds," Sloth reminded him. "No one has yet to beat Gluttony and Greed's score there."

Lust tweaked his nose, winked, and vanished in a mini electric storm. Across the room, Envy rolled her eyes. "If I'd have been able to stand up, I'd have done so," her sister told her.

Sloth knew better than to argue.

Everything blacked out.

* * *

Can anyone guess just why I do 'Tales of Sloth'? The hint is that last line there...


	26. Loss of a Sibling

Athena's hands, clever and swift, flew across the maps of Las Vegas, hastily marking the places they could see with glowing golden lines, and the places that were blanked out of their vision with black. The shape of the shield had become clear, a bowl clapped on top of the city in the desert. Like a china bowl, she could see nothing within the block.

With everything as it was, the best solution would be to smash that bowl, and search the area for whatever was in there.

"Lord Zeus?" she asked, nudging the maps towards her father. "Permission to scout the area?"

Even her father, proud as he was, saw the reason for this. "Permission granted," he allowed, and thunder boomed. "Take Ares, Artemis, and Apollo with you."

She didn't argue as the others would have. With four Olympians, her plans would be backed even if they fell. Bowing, she disappeared from her father's presence with a flash.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Fear flew away, wings blacker than the souls in Tartarus pushing at the air as fast as they could as the tall man fled.

Percy barely paid attention. Sloth was definitely losing ground now, pushed back and only defending, blocking Lust's strikes at her sword. Was she sweating? Did Sins even sweat?

He didn't think he should have interfered, but when Sloth got knocked to her feet, Percy stepped in and blocked the descending sword. It was surprisingly easy, as if Lust hadn't really swung it that hard. Not a killing blow at all, and he knew the difference by now.

Lust raised an eyebrow, and for a moment, Percy felt paralyzed. Electrocuted, even, as those purple eyes stared directly at him. He realized that this was the first time he'd ever made full, direct eye contact with him, and it scared him to be honest, that raw emotion and ancient memories in them. The last person he'd seen with ancient purple eyes had been Mr. D, and the wine god…

"Stay out of this, demigod," Lust told him, breaking Percy's train of thought. "Leave family affairs to family."

"Sloth asked us to free her," he said instead of moving. "And she's the only way everyone won't die."

Lust's purple eyes flickered to the drawn form of his tired sister. "Even she will have a hard time breaking the spells."

"I've already gotten rid of the time limit," Sloth snapped, trying to get up. Leo made his way over to help her get to her feet. "And that imposter is no match for the real thing."

"Disease will be back," Lust swung at Percy casually. He blocked it all too easily. Lust wasn't taking this seriously. Percy switched to the offensive, hacking, stabbing, and slicing from all directions possible. Lust began to move on his feet, dodging and parrying his blows. Like his lean body suggested, he was quite nimble, fast on his feet. Never once did Riptide land on him. "She just never knows when to give up."

"_Disease_?" Sloth would have fallen over if Leo hadn't been supporting her. "You turned _her_ against me?"

"Not me!" Lust snapped, angry now, and his sword was moving in a black blur, landing on Percy every now and then. He wasn't even looking, and Percy found his skin being assaulted with the most peculiar sensation. Not pain, no, but not exactly pleasure. Whenever he missed the blade and it landed on him, a pin-and-needles feeling would buzz in that spot for a while before disappearing. The Curse of Achilles was protecting him, he realized. As long as that blade didn't find its way into his weak spot, he wouldn't be hurt.

Lust didn't seem to have noticed the lack of Percy's wound, still engaged in a staring-slash-glaring contest with Sloth. Percy decided to have a little gamble, and when the next lightning fast strike came, he grabbed the black blade with his left hand, ignoring the proxy feeling for pain, and thrust at Lust's chest with Riptide. The bronze blade met resistance at his black armour, but managed to pierce Lust, going straight through him.

There was a clanging sound as Lust dropped his sword, and looked down at the blade that had suddenly sprouted in his chest with confused purple eyes. For someone who had just been stabbed with Celestial Bronze, he was rather calm. "You stabbed me," Lust said, as if he was making an interesting observation. "Not many do that to me."

Behind him, Percy heard someone mutter complaints about freaks who didn't feel pain. It sounded like Jason.

"Change of plans now?" he said aloud, and listened intently to something only he could hear. "I'm injured. Dying, possibly. There's no possible way I can complete the assignment."

The ground trembled. It was subtle, but Percy noticed the vibrations running through everything. Lust grinned, although it was mixed with a grimace of pain. "If you want to keep your sword, Mr. Jackson, remove it from my chest," Lust advised, suddenly back to being the friendly guy that had escorted them from back at camp. Percy hesitated, but figured that if he was able to have a perfectly normal conversation while having it stuck in his chest, it wouldn't do any harm to remove it. It made a slick sound as he pulled it out, and Percy winced at how the glowing bronze was covered with pitch black blood, tinted with purple. He tried to shake it off, but like oil, it clung stubbornly to the blade.

"Thank you," Lust grinned, and made his way over to Sloth, picking up and sheathing his own sword. Leo began to back away, but Sloth shook her head.

"Let him come."

So Leo stood, supporting Sloth, although he looked uncomfortable. Lust walked over to them slowly, one hand on the wound, his gait the one of a warrior who lost in battle. Maybe he was more affected by it than he tried to show.

In front of Sloth, Lust took his hand off his wound, and wiped the black blood as best as he could on the purple cape. Then, he took her face gently with both hands. "You know I never meant to," he said softly. Percy had to strain to hear it, and although he felt guilty about eavesdropping, he really wanted to know. Percy blamed his demigod ADHD.

"I know," Sloth looked up at Lust, who was nearly a foot taller than her. "But you still did."

Her brother winced, possibly from both the pain and the blunt accusation. "Any messages I should take back?"

Percy squinted. Was it his imagination… or was Lust fading slightly?

Sloth met his eyes, her own teal ones suddenly strong like iron. "Tell them that I will support the side that goes against them."

Lust didn't look surprised, as if he'd expected something similar. He hesitated, and then leaned in, putting his mouth close to her ear to whisper something. He stayed like that for a moment before pulling back. "Love you," he told her cheerfully. "Want to release your older brother from suffering?"

Sloth was still holding Acedia in her hand, the side that wasn't being supported by Leo. She raised it now, the blade at the side of his throat. "Technically, I'm older than you," she grumbled in a teary voice. For the sake of the others, she added, "All of you, look away."

Leo closed his eyes and turned his head, and others did too, but Percy watched. Maybe later, when Sloth was shunned for this, he'd be able to somewhat stand by her side.

A tear ran down her face before she moved the blade a little closer and made a cutting motion. Black blood drizzled out, splattering the ground away from Leo's direction, thankfully for him. Lust fell to his knees, and Sloth managed to drop Acedia and catch him with her arm. Leo lowered her to the ground so that she could kneel, still holding Lust, and let go, backing away to give her room. In her arms, his cut couldn't be seen, and if Percy hadn't know better, he'd have thought that Lust was having a nice dream, with that last smile frozen on his face.

Someone threw up. Leo tried to help Sloth up onto her feet again, but she shook her head. "No, thank you."

And they all watched as Lust's body faded away in her arms.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"So that's how you kill a Sin?" Nico asked, fingering the handle of his sword. "You stab them in the chest and cut their throat?"

Sloth shook her head. Her armour had faded, and she was back in her t-shirt and shorts, although her appearance had changed to that of a ten-year old, much like back when the imposter had still held her previous vessel. With her drooping eyes, tearstain, and sad look on the innocent young face, it was almost too much. Almost. "If I hadn't weakened him, he could have revived himself easily."

"You weakened him?" It was Jason who asked this. Nico didn't really trust this guy, but he didn't seem to mean any ill will, and his aura was actually normal. Normal for a healthy demigod, that is. "How?"

She hesitated, but opened her mouth to answer. "With Acedia. Every second our blades were in contact with each other, we were draining away each other's energies and reserves and destroying them. Mine just didn't last long enough, and I was about to give when Master Percy came to my rescue," she looked up. "Again. Thank you all for that."

She didn't seem to have her heart in the expression of gratitude, but Nico didn't really want to pick on that. If he had killed Bianca, even to put her out of her misery, he thought he'd be sad too, especially now that she was back from the dead.

"Can we go back to Camp now?" Leo asked, rubbing his shoulders. At his neck, Nico saw marks of Sloth's fingers. She must have grabbed too hard, he realized. And Leo hadn't even complained. He was tougher than Nico had originally thought.

"Acedia?" The napping cat opened her eyes. "Preferably something fast, that can fit all of you. Maybe an airplane?"

"No!" Percy, Nico, and Bianca all yelped at the same time. The girl his sister had been looking out for, Hazel or something, cringed. She didn't seem to like airplanes either.

Sloth blinked, and nodded, understanding dawning on her. "Children of Hades and Poseidon," she confirmed aloud. "No air travel, then. How about a limo?"

"Seriously?" Leo looked excited.

"It's either that or a truck, and you'll all have to sit in the back without cover."

"Let's go with the limo," Jason suggested, but he looked distracted. Nico did not care.

"Acedia."

The cat stretched, and like Luxuria before, she kept growing and shifting until the mammal was no longer recognizable; instead, it was a sleek, black stretch limo that awaited them.

Leo whistled. "Sweet!"

"I'll drive," Sloth began to walk to the front seat, and from her depressed way of walking, it was obvious that she wanted time to mourn alone.

"Eight people can fit in the back of a limo, right?"

Piper nodded, and opened the door when a flash of gold flew into the window, shattering it on impact and missing her by a hair. She froze, eyes wide in shock.

Ahead of them, Sloth whirled around, a silver arrow quivering near her arm, and grimaced.

_Silver arrow…_

Nico turned to see the twin gods of archery with their bows loaded again and aimed at Sloth. Behind them were Ares and Athena, a sword and a spear in their hands respectively.

"So," Apollo spat, contempt clear in his voice. "Your kind is back now, are they?"

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"That's it," Annabeth coached Lily, a new demigod, with her knife. She was one of the new recruits they'd gotten with the world under sleep, and all of them needed the very basic trainings in weapons. "Yes, see, your arm needs to-"

There was a shift in the air. Annabeth swayed, stumbling on spot until the feeling of sickening pangs in her stomach settled and she could regain her balance. She forced herself to not let the contents of her stomach revolt, calming herself and her body. Sheer will kept her from losing face.

Not so much for the young demigod. She fell on her back, and just barely managed to turn her head enough to throw up away from herself.

Ignoring the remaining after-effects of whatever that had been, she knelt and brushed the hair out of Lily's forehead. The slight sweat from her training session had made the stray strands stick to her skin, and it could just as well get stuck to half-digested food.

"Go back to your Cabin, Lily," Annabeth ordered once her stomach had settled. Nodding, Lily managed to put the practice blade away properly before stumbling over her feet and the flat ground on the way to the Demeter Cabin.

Taking a deep breath and stepping out of the arena, Annabeth could see that already, other counselors were making their way to the Big House. Good. That saved her the trouble of gathering them together.

"Chiron!" she jogged up to the centaur. "What was that?"

"I do not know," he told her, grave as ever. "But the gods have sent a message."

"And I suppose you'll discuss this in the impromptu meeting we'll be having now," she sighed, and turned to go into the house when Chiron's voice stopped her.

"No, Annabeth," his voice was gentle, and her senses tingled. He was trying to tell her something. "The gods have told us to get ready for war."

She spun around to face the centaur. "War?!" she demanded. "With _who_?"

"_That_ is when I tell you that we'll discuss it in the impromptu meeting we're having now," Chiron pushed her lightly towards the direction of the door. "Shall we join the others, then? It would be a terrible idea for us to not and leave them unaware of the new conditions we must now face."

Annabeth was all too aware of his speech slipping into an older way of speaking, but she didn't comment on it. Instead, she led the way in, and joined the other counselors sitting in the room.

"With _who_?" she repeated again, sitting and gazing at her teacher with curious eyes.

* * *

A/N - Before you start screaming at me... Lust isn't dead. He's just been de-vesselized. I made that word up. He'll recover, but it will take time... how long? Depends on what I feel like.

And for those who didn't get the Evillious Reference of Chapter 23... the name, 'Body Swap', is a skill of Elluka Clockworker's.

Review, check my forum, vote on poll, they all choose the fate of this AU.


	27. To Olympus

Leo had expected Sloth to go down fighting with Acedia the tiger-cat in her hands as a sword, judging from her annoyed expression.

Instead, she just sighed, and raised her hands slightly in surrender. "I know when there is no chance of victory," she said quietly. Behind them, the cool limo (with a fridge in it! A fridge!) shrunk back to Acedia the cat, who trotted after her master, tail proud and high in the air.

Both stopped in their tracks when two more arrows fired, purposely missing their heads. "Stay there," the blond dude snarled, notching another golden arrow to his bow with super speed and skill. "As much as I'd like to see you dead, I'm supposed to bring you back alive."

Leo could almost _hear_ Sloth raise an eyebrow. "_Still_ bitter about that?"

The blond archer looked like he wanted to rip Sloth to pieces, bit by tiny bit with his bare hands, but a girl with auburn hair grabbed his arm and shot him a long look of warning. When the blond finally relaxed – _somewhat_ – she faced Sloth. "We watched you kill your brother," she commented casually.

Sloth flinched.

"Yet somehow, that was all we managed to get. Something shielded your general area from us listening in," she continued. "Care to tell us what that was?"

All of them – the new people that had to be the gods, the questers, and the people they'd picked up while questing – watched and listened, searching for some kind of answer for some kind of question. "Me."

"Then that's that," the blond guy stepped forward. "She's guilty. Let's destroy her."

The other dude, the one with sunglasses and the general aura of _I-will-laugh-while-you-suffer-at-my-hands_, stepped forward with clear eagerness. The woman stayed back, a thoughtful look on her face and in her eyes. Her stormy grey eyes, the ones identical to the ones he'd seen back in camp in the faces of the Athena kids.

So that was Athena… and from what Piper would tell him, the archer was Apollo, the female archer was Artemis, and the last dude… Yeah, he gave up on that one.

"Wait," Athena – if he was right – raised her hand. "Why did you not kill the demigods?"

Leo shot a wary look of 'huh?' at Piper, but she and Jason was having this freaky silent conversation with their eyes. Well, thanks for including everyone.

"They rescued me," she replied simply. "And I do believe you were about to destroy me...?"

"Smooth-talking won't get you out of this, worthless filth."

"What is this, the Elizabethan Age?" Sloth demanded, finally annoyed. "There was a _reason_ why I started the Industrial Revolution!"

Maybe-Apollo smiled, cold and maybe just a bit cruel. "So you admit to interfering with mortals."

"Unlike you gods, I do not have to follow the Ancient Laws." There was something in her voice, a silent '_duh'_.

It was subtle, but the slight glances the three shot the grey-eyed woman that showed Leo just who was in charge here. Athena frowned, a calculating look on her face. "Interrogation," she decided. "Let us take her to Olympus."

"And of the heroes?" the girl asked. Artemis wore silver, and her eyes, too, were silver rather than grey.

"They don't know, do they?" Sloth asked quietly. "You do not teach the heroes of us. I thought it odd that they didn't… but you do not equip them of your complete history."

A golden arrow came dangerously close to ripping off her ear.

"Control yourself, Apollo," Athena ordered, keeping eye contact with Sloth. "No, we do not… Perhaps they should be brought to this trial as well."

The other man shrugged, as if to say, 'who are we to argue?', and toyed with a knife that had a blade sharper than any razor he'd seen. Artemis and Apollo exchanged glances, one cool, the other furious, but neither said anything.

Abruptly, an odd sensation, like everything in the world being turned upside down, hit him hard, and blacked out his vision.

Seemed to be only a temporary effect, because when his vision finally cleared, and his stomach settled, he saw the Empire State Building. For real. Right in front of him.

"Mount Olympus," Percy said, sounding rather groggy.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"With who?"

Chiron shuffled in one spot, settling his hooves into a comfortable position. "All of you," he began. "Know the story of Pandora, yes?"

Annabeth nodded, and heard a murmuring chorus of yeses.

"Before the gods gave Pandora her _pithos_, they were burdened with some odd… things. Not quite gods, nor Titans, or even a primordial deity despite their ages, yet they were not monsters, either. They called themselves the Sins, preferring to put themselves into a category of their own.

"And yes, they were Sins, or rather, the personification of them. Why they existed, I was never told, but what some knew was that the Sins seemed to enjoy making fools of the gods, using their powers. The gods, being gods, did not appreciate such treatment, and longed to get rid of them, but they were just too busy, with their plotting to punish humanity for what Prometheus had done at the time."

Annabeth began to have a suspicion of where this was leading, and internally groaned.

"Finally, they found a way to do both; capture the Sins, and banish them to the mortal realms so that they would taint and harm mortals instead of the gods. It was a good plan at the time."

"What happened?"

Chiron sighed. "The Sins weren't happy at their imprisonment, nor being banished from the heavens."

Well, no one really would have been.

"The Sins, before they had been trapped in the _pithos_, had been broken down into nothing but their very essences, like the dust that the monsters dissolve into when you kill them. So broken down were they, that they should have stayed like that for eternity, much like the Titan Lord should have, and, well, I'm sure you all remember just how that ended."

Annabeth's fingers rubbed at a cool clay bead at her neck, the latest addition to her camp necklace.

"The Olympians," he held up a letter. "Has found out the cause of the current sleeping epidemic, and found it to be the doing of one of the Sins. Somehow, they'd managed to power this by draining away Boreas' power, and now, the gods demand that the Sins pay back in blood, as they see this as a message of war.

"As demigods…. They ask that you stand behind your parents as they fight them."

In Chiron's eyes, Annabeth saw that the teacher didn't want this. And she knew, just as well, that the casualties would be great. While the camp had expanded tremendously, most of the new kids hadn't been properly trained yet, and didn't have enough experience to be sent into a full blown out war where the gods would be participating.

"Naturally, we won't send you to this unprepared," he told them all, reading her mind somehow. "Classes explaining about the Sins will be added, new methods brought, and extra training sessions given. We'll manage."

He sounded like he was trying to convince himself. Chiron, who'd seen more wars than anyone except some gods, was trying to be optimistic.

They'd need a lot of hope.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"Why are we at the Empire State Building?" Piper asked, and then felt like an idiot as most of the people looked at her.

"It's the new entrance to Olympus," the guy with black hair, Percy, told her, smiling in a friendly way. "Well, not _new_ new," he amended. "But new-er?"

The goddess with grey eyes shot him a rather annoyed look. "The latest entrance to Mount Olympus, Piper McLean," she told her rather severely. "Is the Empire State Building."

Well, no one ever said anything about gods in this building, but she decided to keep her mouth shut.

A snap of the fingers opened the doors, and the large party made their way through them, into the lobby. A man was snoring at the desk, dressed in the uniform of a security guard.

Apollo put a hand to the elevator, and the doors slid open. "In, vermin," he ordered.

Sloth walked in, and she couldn't help but wince. Despite the reassurance that it hadn't been Sloth who had ordered her kidnapping by Dylan the loudmouth, the imposter had still had her face and her voice, and she was in the form of a young girl.

Jason seemed odd, too. He was frowning, and nervously glancing around, squirming uncomfortably. He was pretty much the picture of a kid who thought he didn't belong somewhere.

Inside the elevator, old music from back when her grandfather had been in his youth (somewhat) played. Sloth made a face. "Your taste in music concerns me."

Apollo told her what she could do with her concerns in rather rude and colorful words as the elevator began to go up. She heard the words 'six hundredth floor' said, but that was impossible, right?

"No, thank you," Sloth replied politely to Apollo's answer. Then, she laid a hand against the wall, and said-

Well, she said _something_, but Piper couldn't remember what. Or rather, she couldn't quite recall the sound specifically, but her memory of that moment was still clear. It wasn't a language she knew, or heard of, and it didn't sound like a language at all. More like music, the feeling of sleep and some sort of guilty wrongdoing woven into the sound that was evading her memories. Whatever it was, it sent chills up her spine.

Sloth had a knife at her throat in an instant. "What did you do?"

The elevator began to play music, but a different kind. A piano playing, before a man's voice, cooing in a language that Piper _knew_ belonged to Earth, began to sing. "Is that Japanese?" she asked as the low purr of the voice sang softly.

"We spent a lot of time in Japan," Sloth smiled. "There was a slight rise in some popular culture featuring the Seven Deadly Sins there recently, you see."

"Change it," the other guy ordered, but he didn't seem to have his heart in it.

"I'd rather not. I like Lust's singing."

Some more silence, only filled by some soft music, passed before another person decided to break it.

"Why are we taking the elevator?"

Piper tried to look through the people, and guessed it was the kid named Nico who had asked the question.

"We can't go directly there with her," Apollo jerked his head towards Sloth, who stood there with her eyes closed, as if she was listening intently to the music. "So we have to take the longer way."

He really didn't seem to like her. Was there anything in the myths about Apollo and someone named Sloth? She tried to remember, but found nothing. Actually, she couldn't think of anyone named Sloth in the myths.

The song ended, the man warbling sweetly and letting the piano end soon after. Still, the elevator kept going up while a new one began to play, something jazzy this time, a girlish voice, somewhere between high and low, singing in Japanese.

"No English songs?"

"We like Japan," Sloth said absentmindedly. "Nice place, interesting people there. Before that tsunami, anyways, but they're doing rather well."

" 'We'?"

Sloth suddenly sighed, and lost the youthful innocence. Still in her childish form, it was odd looking at the mature, aged person within. "I keep forgetting," she mumbled. She looked rather heartbroken, so much that even Apollo laid off her for the moment.

The lift ground to a stop, and the double doors slid open, letting her gawk at the impossibility of the… the amazingness of it all. Yet, none of it truly scared her, because she felt somewhat at peace there, like it was familiar.

Impossible, because she'd never been to this city-like place with all the amazing architecture, the temples and palaces and large statues, but still, it felt familiar, like déjà vu or something.

"Olympus," there was pride tinged in the voice of the grey-eyed goddess. "And all its glory."

* * *

Anyone read the first five chapters of MoA? There might be the Vestal Vergins, or something along that line! Which means I don't need OCs! (goes and kills them all)

And, the songs will be at the forum. If anyone knows english songs with similar voices, TELL ME IMMEDIATELY.

I own nothing, just in case anyone forgot.


	28. Preparing for War

The Throne Room, the central point of the powers the Olympians possessed, was as magnificent and imposing as ever. The other eight Olympians, as well as Hades and Hestia, sat in their respective thrones, grim-faced and in full armour. Hestia smiled and waved slightly at him before returning to tending her fire as the four gods returned to their thrones and large sizes after pushing Sloth to the middle of the hall. Hades was making a point to not look at their general direction. Percy guessed that it was because of Bianca being alive. Or, it could have been him.

Still, the air was tense, not just with the divine power of fourteen gods, but with an underlying current of something else. Friction? Nerves? Whatever it was, it was directed at Sloth, which sort of made him feel better. Finally, someone else under pressure and the spotlight. Percy tried to make eye contact with his father, but Poseidon was too busy frowning at Sloth, deep in thought as he kept his grip on his trident.

Acedia wouldn't desert Sloth, and leapt into her arms. A scared girl, holding onto her cat as she looked around with wide eyes was the picture she made, and Percy felt rather sorry for her.

Zeus spoke first. "So your kind has managed to come back to life now, have you?"

Sloth met his eyes. "We were back earlier than you think."

Athena straightened. "You stated that you started what is now called the Industrial Revolution, which means that if you were speaking the truth-" Sloth looked indignant at the suggestion that she might have been lying, but held her tongue. "-you, at least, have been back for roughly two hundred and fifty years. Is that true?"

Sloth put Acedia down, and the cat shifted into a comfortable couch, which she settled in immediately. There was no visible movement, but Percy could see Zeus' fingers tightening around the Master Bolt, and Apollo's expression growing fierce.

Sloth just sat down. "Try going a bit more back," she suggested, snuggling into the seat. "Like the exact moment when Pandora opened the _pithos_."

"You lie!" Hermes snapped. Percy stared at the messenger god, whose face contained just as much as hatred for her as Apollo's had. Whatever thing they had against Sloth, it was intense.

"No, that destroys credit, so I try to not lie when I can."

Zeus raised an eyebrow. "You are trying to build credit with us? Why would your kind do that?"

"Because _my kind_, as you so kindly put it in the most un-discriminating way possible, has just metaphorically stabbed me in the back."

"So now you want to join our side?" there was heavy sarcasm in Demeter's voice.

Sloth scowled at her. "I never wanted to join any side. If I may remind you, you were the ones who dragged me here and put me under lock."

Percy glanced at Sloth. She was still sitting on Acedia like an imperial little girl, but she wasn't under lock, none that he could see.

"For good reason, if we look at just what you Sins do for _fun_."

"We changed!" Sloth protested. "Even Diligence admitted that I reformed!"

"The council will believe that when he walks in and tells us that himself."

"How's that love charm holding on you Sins, anyways?" Aphrodite chimed.

Sloth didn't say anything, possibly sensing that saying more could lead to being hit with the Master Bolt, but her hands clenched into tiny fists, and she frowned in frustration and anger, the second mostly focused on the love goddess. Aphrodite must have been interfering with someone again. He pitied the poor couple.

"Vote on it, then," she snapped.

If the gods were bothered with taking orders from her, they didn't show it. "Those who wish for her to be spared and freed?"

Not a single hand went up.

"Those in favour of imprisoning her back in the _pithos_?"

Every single god voting raised their hand in agreement. By Hestia's side, the _pithos_ appeared out of thin air. Sloth eyed the clay jar with distaste.

"It is decided then," Zeus declared. "And now-"

"Before you declare me a prisoner," Sloth cut Zeus off. "I'd just like to tell the demigods and the Oracle something. And it would be much better for all of you if you let me."

It wasn't said as a threat, just stating a fact. Still, they seemed to take it as the former, shifting defensively. "Very well," Zeus allowed.

"I'm sorry," Sloth apologized to them all. He hadn't been expecting that. "I can't wake the mortals up in the pithos, but the time limit is gone, so they won't die now. Not while they're sleeping, anyways. However, some mortals with… _talents_ will manage to wake up well enough on their own."

"Talents?"

"Talents," Sloth confirmed. "And if you need help… well, I didn't fulfil my end of the bargain properly, so I suppose each of you can ask for my help once. But try to remember I won't be able to help you while I'm in jail."

"Jail?"

"I mean _pithos_," she corrected herself. "It's the same thing, anyways, but in a politically correct term…"

"If I may," Athena cut in. "You most likely won't be able to cash that favour in, heroes, as she'll be in the _pithos_ for as long as we remain in power."

"The gods may seek my aid as well," Sloth added, trying to get the last word. "You'll need it, after declaring war on my siblings. They're quite tricky people, and I have absolutely no doubt that they'll be able to outwit you on several things. Most things, actually."

"In the _pithos_! Now!" Zeus finally seemed to have lost his temper, and from the looks of it, so had a lot of other gods.

Sloth obeyed. She walked up to the jar, and knelt, Acedia next to her, and dissolved into golden dust, much like the monsters did when they were 'killed'. The jar opened, and something like a vacuum sucked up all the Sloth-dust. Once all of her essence was in, the _pithos_ sealed itself.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"Annabeth?"

The daughter of Athena looked back, getting out of the way as the rest of the counselors filed out of the room. "Yeah, Chiron?"

"A word, if I may," he shifted, now settled in a wheelchair for the sake of room. "And please, shut the door."

Annabeth obeyed, and pulled a chair out. "What's wrong?"

Chiron leaned closer to her, eyes intent. "The reason gods have been able to capture and imprison the Sins was because of allies. Allies that we don't have at the moment. Allies that could shift all the favours to our side if they'd just once again lend us their aid."

"Who?" she asked. From what Chiron had explained, the Sins were powerful, and apparently still retained most of their power.

"They go by the name 'Virtues', although I'm sure they have been called other things. Just as there are Seven Sins, so are there Seven Virtues. We have not heard from them since Pandora, but now, when war has been declared, we may need them again."

Annabeth was quick to understand. "You want me to find them?" she guessed, and was rewarded with a smile.

"Correct," he reached down to a small compartment below his 'legs', and took out a dagger made out of Celestial Bronze. Just an inch longer than her own knife, this one glowed with both the characteristic light of most Celestial Bronze blades and something extra that she couldn't place.

"This was one of your mother's weapons when she hunted a Sin," he told her as she took it and admired the blade. "She never used it, and so it retains the blessing from whatever Virtue touched it. Whatever happens when you go on your quest, I want you to be well-guarded."

"Chiron…." She couldn't say anything. Maybe it was the fact that this had belonged to her mother, or that he trusted her enough to send her to retrieve valuable, critical allies, but she could barely choke out thanks.

Instead, she just hugged her mentor.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"Lord Zeus!" one of the wind gods, fully decked in armour, flew in. "The Sins have sent their response!"

They all looked up. The other Olympians had been explaining to them all just what the Sins were, and what they'd done. From the sounds of it, Percy had thought that they were just powerful tricksters, but apparently, that wasn't all.

Bowing to the Olympians, the minor god who Percy couldn't name handed a thick scroll to Athena before standing back respectfully. Unrolling it, the goddess cleared her throat before beginning to read.

"'_To His Most Excellent Lord Airhead with a lightning bolt shoved up his bum and his hoity-toity minions, all with something shoved up there_,'" she began, frowning. Wow. The Sins, other than Lust and Sloth, seemed to be rather rude people. Rude, _gutsy_ people who told the truth, but rude people nonetheless. "'_We have received your message declaring war to us after you finally figured out that we were the ones responsible for the theft of the North Wind's power, and as much as we'd have liked to sent you an Iris Message in response, we could not, as we had kidnapped the rainbow goddess. So instead, we send our reply in the old fashioned way, using pen and perfumed paper._

"'_As to your lovely declaration of war, we'd love to! It's a date, then! We'll be the attractive ones laughing and singing. You can't miss us. However, as both sides are not ready, we suggest that a preparation period of two months be given, so that the sleeping world will get something absolutely spectacular and smashing to dream about. Please inform Boreas that since the little leeching spell on him has been destroyed, his power won't be drained anymore. Also, thank him for the ten dollars. I appreciated it. So much, in fact, that I'm sending over a little gift of friendly gesture that may come in rather handy later. It may not, depending on the choices you make, but who knows?_

"'_Please send Sloth my love, and apologies for doing that to her. We truly wish we did not have to resort to such… _barbaric_ actions, but it had to be done._ _Hugs and Kisses to those that'll pay for them, Greed, Master of Avaritia and the Earth._'" Athena frowned. "'_P.S., Pride says that your security measures are absolutely terrible. She tells me that she found it all too easy to trash your lovely mountain, and especially your throne room_.'"

Athena snapped the scroll back into the original cylinder shape a bit harder than necessary. "Where is this 'friendly gift'?" she asked the god.

He looked confused. "Lady Athena, I assure you, there was only the letter."

"What of the messenger?" Hermes asked.

The god began to back out. "She should still be waiting out there for the reply. Shall I fetch her?"

Zeus nodded his consent. "Do so immediately."

Wind blew as he dissipated, probably flying down to the bottom of the building. In a matter of moments, he was back, solidifying into a man dressed in armour. Now, he was dragging a huge coffin made of gold and silver, encrusted with jewels. It was almost gaudy, the way decorations were all but dripping off the casket.

"The messenger was gone, milord," he reported. "In her place, there was only this."

"Open it," he ordered. "Let us see what our enemies intend."

The god reached out, and with a click, the lid lifted smoothly, revealing a woman with her eyes closed. Her chest still rose and fell, but despite the sudden brightness that must have struck her, she remained somewhat still. She wasn't as pretty as Sloth had been, her features and light brown hair unremarkable and plain, but there was definitely a particular aura of serenity around her. Percy thought that it was kind of like comparing Aphrodite and Hestia with each other. While one was clearly beautiful, the other had an air of comfort. In her hands, folded across her abdomen, she was holding a single gleaming apple, the polished surface shining as it caught the light.

"_To the woman who sleeps__/__Who must be woken by locking lips__," _Rachel whispered, reciting her prophecy. "Not Sleeping Beauty; Snow White."

"I thought Snow White had black hair," Nico whispered back, and was jabbed in the ribs by his sister.

The gods reacted a bit differently, some merely gasping in shock, others standing to get a better look. They clearly knew her, and clearly, they hadn't expected her as their 'gift'.

"Patience," breathed Hestia.

* * *

Don't you just love it when, halfway through the story, the author changes everything so that nothing seems to make sense?

Not me. I want to beat my past self up for doing so much out of the idea I have now. I'm making everything fit, though..


	29. Tangled Fates

Of course, with her luck on magical quests in general, Annabeth should have known, should have guessed that she wasn't going to go on the quest right away, even with the shiny new weapon that her mother had once held while hunting down enemies of Oympus.

"I could just go and search," she offered half-heartedly, already knowing the answer.

"No, Annabeth," Chiron shook his head as they made their way out. "Not until Rachel is back. Then, you may get a prophecy, but until then, stay at camp and learn some more about our new enemies."

Well, when he put it like that, she didn't really get a choice, did she? And she had to admit that it would be a wiser choice to learn more about the Sins before going off to try and convince their nemesis to join the side of the Olympians again.

Strapping the blessed knife to her other arm with a spare leather tie and making a mental note to get a sheath for it, Annabeth trudged off to the part of camp that was being used to teach campers about the Sins. She had heard that there was a minor god teaching, although which one, she didn't know.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Thunder crackled after Hestia's shocked words. "Silence, Hestia!" Zeus roared, and the goddess flinched, the hearth flames shrinking and sputtering.

The already dark eyes of Hades darkened even further. "Brother," he began in a warning tone.

Well, then. Let the gods fight it out amongst themselves, Rachel thought. The woman sleeping in the coffin… she wasn't beautiful in the haunting way Sloth or Lust, or even Fear had been – although with Fear, his aura had drowned the charm out – but there was no denying her own form of attractiveness. Something like 'natural beauty', all that kind of cheesy stuff from romance novels, only this was real.

If she had to describe her as a colour, Rachel would have said she was white. Blank. _Pure_.

"At least send the demigods and the Oracle back to camp," Hera told them all, leaning in her throne to massage her temples. Could gods get headaches? Hera seemed to have one, for certain.

"Except for them," added Hermes, pointing at the group of Bianca and the other girl – Hazel? "And the boy, as well." Jason found himself staring into a large, godly finger pointing at him.

Nico opened his mouth, and Rachel considered throwing her backpack into his mouth; it certainly would have been big enough for her bag to fit in, and it would have shut him up rather nicely. But Bianca was there first, clapping an olive-skinned hand over his mouth. "Shut up, Nico," she muttered, just loud enough that Rachel could hear her if she strained her ears. "You can't win this fight."

"If it's your sister's fate you're worried about, son of Hades," Apollo looked up from his lyre, composed now that Sloth was locked up. "Then you may rest assured. She shall be treated fairly."

"Or as fairly as a child of mine will be treated," Hades muttered, but didn't seem to be too worried about the fate of his child. Either he really wasn't worried, or he didn't care enough. From what Rachel had heard of the death god's parenting skills, it was almost on the same level as her own father's, but this wasn't her place to intrude.

Nico hesitated. "You'll be fine?" he asked Bianca, and only Bianca. Not her, the future-seeing person who spat green smoke out as she spoke in confusing rhymes and riddles, not the immortal, all-seeing gods in the room, but the girl that had come back to life somehow. It was kind of sweet.

She smiled, but didn't answer the question. "Don't hold a grudge!" she winked, as if there was a secret she wasn't sharing.

The son of Hades may have wanted to say something to that, but Hera snapped her fingers, and her vision went dark, before refocusing on a rather familiar landscape, dragon, and Fleece.

"Hello, Peleus," she managed, before clapping a hand over her mouth to hold back the nauseating feeling of her stomach rebelling furiously.

"I hate Hera," Percy groaned, clutching at his stomach with one arm while he leaned on a tree for support. Behind him, Leo was dry-heaving while Nico lost his balance and knocked a just-as-disoriented Piper down.

Rachel had to agree with him there.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

After the others left, Jason swallowed nervously. He had followed the advice given to him by Fear, and listened. As he had done so, he had slowly pieced together something that he hadn't quite expected, but had always heard about, courtesy of Octavian's mad ramblings. Not so mad now, but…

Greeks were real. They existed, perhaps in a camp just like Camp Jupiter. And they didn't know about the Romans, as far as he could tell. Jason rubbed the edges of his tattoos.

His father in his Greek form noticed it, and he flickered, the familiar image of Jupiter temporarily replacing Zeus in his Greek-style armour. "The trial for the two undead demigods shall now begin," Zeus announced. "Bianca Di Angelo, daughter of Hades, and Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto has somehow been brought to life despite their definite deaths prior on. Are there those that disagree?"

He wasn't a part of this trial, Jason realized. He was here because he was Roman, and shouldn't be allowed to go to the Greek Camp.

Well, that was rather racist, but he understood, nonetheless. The thought of having Greeks in Camp Jupiter… well, that wasn't too comforting for him either. Besides, there was only so much silent observing he could do before he accidently let something slip.

Remembering that he had told Piper that the Roman gods were the only ones left, that their Greek aspects had faded away, he winced. Jason hoped she wouldn't tell the others, or get confused.

"Are there any with opinions on what should be done about these two?"

Pluto's Greek form, Hades, raised a hand. "Let them live."

A chorus of protests rose. Jason thought they were justified, because it would have been as if the god of death was letting his children live a second time.

"The Roman girl, yes," the Greek Juno agreed with a bitter face. She seemed more lax, and she didn't have the goatskin cloak he was used to seeing on all her statues. "She is needed in that prophecy. The Greek demigod, on the other hand…well, we have no need of her, so I suppose she can be sent back to the Underworld."

The girl in ragged, dirty silver clothing winced at the careless, casual condemnation of her death. Hazel squeezed her hand, and opened her mouth, golden eyes determined. "No."

All twelve thirty feet tall gods – minus Hestia, who was still little – turned to look at the darker-skinned demigod.

"No," she swallowed, clearly scared, but still continuing. "She was brought back, just like I was. You either kill both of us again, or neither of us."

The silence stretched, each immortal face unreadable as they each went over their own thoughts. Jason decided he liked this girl. Loyal to her friend/sister, and willing to die with her if it didn't work out. With a pang, he rubbed the scar on his lip, wondering if he could have done that, gather the courage to stand up to the whole twelve Olympians for Thalia had they been in the same situation. He hoped so.

But wait, prophecy? What had Sloth said while confronting Lust? That she had sent Gaea and the Giants to sleep for another few decades at the least. Jason wanted to smash his head against the nearest wall. Of course the Great Prophecy would point to the greatest enemy of the gods.

The silence was broken by Mars – Ares, he corrected himself – who cackled. "Brave kid," he laughed, picking at his nails. Jason thought he rather preferred Mars, the more disciplined one. "I say let them both live!"

"The Ancient Laws clearly dictate that-" Zeus began, clearly frustrated, when he stopped abruptly, staring at something behind Jason. Just like everyone else in the room.

Jason spun around, and saw three young women, all dressed in flowing robes like the fake Sloth had been decked in. Or the person that Jason had been told was the fake Sloth. Leo had explained everything to him, but the demigod had been exceptionally ADHD.

Looking closer, he saw that the word 'young' wouldn't really be correct. Their faces were ageless, smooth but strangely world-weary, so at one glance, they'd have the appearance of a teenager while the next they'd be ancient without wrinkles. Dark hair was knotted and pinned back severely. He felt that he'd have recognized them had they worn a different face.

In their hands, they held… Jason understood when he saw the threads, the shears, and the spool. The Fates. Lupa had once shown him a dream of hers where the women had appeared, and the vision of the immortal wolf had portrayed them as old women, wrinkles everywhere on their faces with white hair. Nothing like how they showed themselves now.

One of them held up her spool of electric blue thread, showing clearly the huge mess of tangles it was in. "Things have changed," she told them all, her voice ringing both in the room and in his head. It was the voice that none would really be able to say no to, one that all would eventually prostrate to, yet…

Yet the voice of Sloth and Lust seemed to be woven within that.

Jason squinted, but saw no trace of teal or purple on the woman, nor her sisters.

"As such," the woman with the large shears stepped forward. "We must change."

The last woman came, and held out her empty hands. Her sister, the one with the shears, cut two of the thread tangled and dropped them into the outstretched hands. "The children of the Underworld shall live," the three said in unison. "For now."

**~\-Sloth-/~**

He half-expected them to flash out of sight like the gods would have done. Instead, they simply gathered up their belongings and left the room.

Jason had to give credit to his father's Greek counterpart. Instead of falling in silent panic like he thought he'd have done, the King of the Gods only straightened himself. "Then they will be sent to their respective camps," he ordered. "None of you are to speak of the events that had happened here, or mention the Greek and Roman differences."

Blue eyes met blue, and Jason realized that this was an order to him as well. He saluted the Lord of the Skies. "Yes, sir."

Zeus nodded. "Daughter of Hades, you shall be sent to Camp Half-Blood."

"Father," one of the goddesses who had come to bring them to Olympus began. Silver clothes, daughter of Zeus… Artemis. "She is, technically, still a Huntress of mine. My blessing has disappeared with death, but as she has been returned to life…."

"My daughter will choose which path to follow," Hades countered. Bianca both shrunk and grew at her father's hidden support.

"Well, child?"

Bianca bowed her head. "If my lady does not mind, I would like to be an ordinary camper."

Artemis was gracious. "Very well, then."

"Bianca Di Angelo, daughter of Hades, you shall be sent to Camp Half-Blood," Zeus ordered, and she disappeared, the light seeming to bend around her until she was a pinprick, and then not even that. She was completely gone. "Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto."

The girl squared her shoulders. Jason approved silently. "You and Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, shall be sent to Camp Jupiter. Praetor Grace will inform Lupa of my decisions," Zeus flickered again, changing to Jupiter and back within moments. "And make sure that you become a Roman soldier."

She bowed slightly. "Yes, sir," she repeated Jason's words from earlier.

Zeus didn't do anything really visible, but Jason's world spun, and then flipped upside down, a feeling of his stomach being ripped out and then carelessly replaced hitting him, minus the pain. When he blinked, the magnificence of Olympus had been changed to the familiar view of his father's statue in the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus.

"What? Get off me, insolent fool!"

Jason looked down, and realized that he had ended up falling on Octavian's back, while Hazel had landed on his legs. Making a silent note to thank Zeus/his father for that, he slowly got off, making a big show of getting off and helping Hazel.

"I'm back," he said as casually as he could when Octavian finally stood up, face red with indignation.

* * *

So near the end... I better start making up a line breaker using 'WRATH'. I wrote this when I was still reading about urban legends, so excuse the strangeness.

Also, I didn't read the Mark Of Athena. Do not spoil it for me.


	30. Tale of Sloth BONUS: Strengthened Bond

Time had gone by surprisingly fast in Olympus. When Nico had been teleported back to camp, it had already been turning dark, which meant… campfire.

Unfortunately, he had to suffer through the thing instead of sneaking away like he would have done, forced to stand up in front of the amphitheatre with everyone else and talk about what had happened, how Sloth was technically on their side now because the Sins had betrayed her and cast her out, but just in case, she was locked up in the _pithos_, _but_ people _could_ ask for her help, as long as they got her out of there, which the gods did not want happening, so they shouldn't even consider it.

Yeah, it was confusing.

The only good thing about having to stand and talk was that he was able to catch Bianca. Halfway through their talk, she had just suddenly appeared, right in front of him. Swaying, she'd been about to fall, but Nico had managed to catch her in time.

_That_ had made everyone burst into an uproar.

When Chiron had finally decided that enough was enough, and the party back from the quest had had enough questions shot at them, he ordered them to go to their cabins and sleep.

Bianca had liked the Hades Cabin very much. "It's nice to actually be in solid form here," she admitted, sitting on a bunk across from his, dressed in pajamas lent by some of the nicer Aphrodite kids who had approved of her dropping out of the Hunters. The Hunters had taken it gracefully, acknowledging that their former sister was still a bit traumatized by her death and unusual rebirth, but had given her a silver calling card anyways, stating that she was always welcome back. _If_ she didn't get too old or involved with boys, that was.

He planned to burn it later, when she wasn't looking.

"It's so strange," she murmured, stretching out underneath her blanket. "But I like it…"

Within moments, she was asleep. Smiling, he closed his eyes as well.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

A dream. Oh, great. Nico looked around, and saw that this was an odd place. It looked like a library prison, four shelves facing inwards to box him in, but the books were shaking, vibrating as teal winds shot past them, twirling and whirling in a miniature storm. In the center, through the coloured winds, he could catch a glimpse of a small figure.

He'd have bet everything he owned that the figure was Sloth. Who else liked wind, the color teal, and mystery dreams? "Sloth!" he yelled, stepping in the path of a wind.

Big mistake.

A memory of something, a sword, a greedy lord, a dragon, and some kind of crystal, unlike anything he'd ever seen before, assaulted him. Blinking at the images all but burned into his eyelids, he stepped sideways, only to be hit with another wind, this one of immense pain shooting through his body, the feeling of disintegrating everywhere.

That particular wind released him, but now others were rushing at him in assault. Learning about love. Hating something with such intense ferociousness that it hurt him within. Missing the beautiful heavens. Revenge, plotting, and overall, the same phrase repeated over and over again. Project Pandora.

The last wind, more opaque than any other, hit him, and he was in a conference room somewhere, both besides Sloth and Sloth herself, disagreeing with ending humanity. Strange just how focused this one was, so crystal clear and direct, all the images like a high definition picture, or whatever they were called.

Inside his mind, something, a mental grip, grabbed his consciousness, and pulled. Everything went black.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"What are you doing here?"

A familiar voice, low, feminine, mellow, only slightly panicked. "Sloth?" he croaked out, opening his eyes.

Said girl looked down at him, eyes shining in worry. Something seemed off about her…

Nico looked closer, and saw that she looked well-rested. Before, she had looked like a supermodel who hadn't slept for days, but now, clearly rested, she looked much prettier. "You actually look nicer now," he laughed, dazed by whatever the wind had done to him.

She raised an eyebrow. "Why are you here?"

"Dream," he sighed, wanting to close his eyes. "Tired."

Sloth snapped her fingers, and suddenly, it was like he had drunk a gallon of super strong coffee. "Whoa!" he sat up, rubbing his eyes. "That was…"

"Energizing?" she suggested dryly. "This is bad."

"Yeah, now I'm not going to get any sleep," he muttered, shaking his arms. Who the Hades gave coffee to demigods? Well, there were the children of Hypnos, but that was just their nature. Other than them, the lot had the energy of two mortals on average. The more powerful ones like him or Percy were 'overcharged'. Whatever that meant.

"No, that should have been just enough to get you to wake, not super-charge you. We have a problem."

"What kind of problem?" he asked, getting up. "Where am I?"

Now, he saw that he was inside some kind of bubble surrounding him and Sloth. Outside, it was still the crazy windy library. Acedia was curled up next to Sloth, and only opened one eye in lazy greeting before returning to her nap.

"The _pithos_," Sloth explained. "I just changed the interiors a bit," she added when he made a noise of disbelief.

"Alright, so what's the problem?"

Sloth motioned at him to sit. With the amount of adrenaline or energy or whatever was the scientifically correct term going through his body, he really didn't want to, but he did, trying to not squirm, or run around waving his sword laughing hysterically. It seemed like a pretty good idea right now. "When I temporarily possessed your body, we had a mental link. Back then, it was quite weak.

"Somehow, it has thickened and gained strength, just enough for your consciousness to be drawn through the bond and to my prison. When you stepped into my memories – terrible thing to do, by the way, you could have died of madness – that solidified the bond."

Nico's throat went dry. "How solid?"

Sloth looked at him with pity. "Very solid. Oh, I'm sure I'll find a way to sever it, but it'll take some time, now that I don't have Greed's Library at my disposal."

"Greed has a library?"

"Yes, and she doesn't even use it," Sloth grumbled. "What a waste."

She didn't seem too focused on the real issue here. "So I'm stuck here?" a wave of panic hit his chest. Bianca!

"No," Sloth shook her head. "I can send you back, if you want, but occasionally, you may be pulled in by my presence. Wrath once told me that I was like a black hole, always taking in and never letting go. Personally, I thought that was more of Greed's description, but in your case, I suppose I can make an exception."

"Well, thanks," he ran his hand through his hair. "Hey Sloth, what's Project Pandora?"

She blinked. "Hmm?"

"I heard the words a lot when I was in your memories. What is it?"

Sloth regarded him with jewel-like eyes, and Nico realized just how old she was. Her memory was vast, her consciousness deep; and yet she was trapped in a clay jar, having a conversation with someone that would be gone in a blink to her rating of time.

Sometimes, hanging out with death gods made you just too aware of your own mortality.

"It is the way the Sins remember our mother."

"Pandora's your _mother_?!"

Sloth shrugged. "She released us, did she not? Into this world, we were brought by her 'officially'. I'd say that's what a mother does."

"Could you not do that?"

She blinked, looking much younger again. "Do what?"

"Switch speech," he grumbled. "One moment, it's all modern, the next, you're borderline ancient."

"Apologies. It is a habit I have never bothered to break."

"You're doing it again," Nico sighed. "Never mind. Can you just send me back?"

"I can. Good luck, Master Di Angelo," Sloth inclined her head. "And remember; I owe all of you favours. Especially the daughter of Zeus and the son of Hypnos, though they may not know that. Tell them, would you?"

"What?"

But he found himself asking that to the top of his bunk bed.

_Sins_.

* * *

Review, check out forum, thank you for reading.


	31. Time to Sleep

Annabeth was always proud that she was her mother's daughter, and managed to withstand most things without whining.

But at the moment, she really wanted to whine like a typical daughter of Aphrodite with a broken nail. "But Rachel's back!" she protested.

Chiron shook his head. "She just came back from a quest. The best thing to do would be to let her first rest, and then get the prophecy when's she's fresher."

Annabeth would have argued that all too happily, but Percy smiled at her and she lost the resolve to do so. "I'll wait," she sighed, and left the general area before her desire for the quest came back.

"Hey," Percy greeted her. It had been… exactly a day or something since he'd left, yet it felt like months. Out of half-hearted impulse, she punched him lightly on his arm.

He raised an eyebrow in question. "Why so violent?"

"I don't know," she sighed, sitting on the grass, not caring that it was becoming damp, or the sky dark. Percy sat next to her. He put the punched arm around her shoulder, and she snuggled into him. Much better. The balance of the universe was restored again.

"You'll do fine on the quest," he assured her in the cheerful, honest, fully devoted way only Percy Jackson could ever pull off. "I believe in you."

"What is this, a cheesy movie?" she tried to joke. He laughed good-naturedly. "Hey, Percy?"

"Yeah, Annabeth?"

"If I'm allowed, I want you to come with me on the quest."

Percy didn't hesitate in his answer. "Sure."

"Thanks," she leaned in as much as she could. "The Sins are odd people, from the sounds of it."

"They are," Percy chuckled. "Lust, he liked listening to some Asian music, and that was pretty much all he would play on the way there. Did I tell you about his magic car?"

"No."

"Well, it's actually a wolf named Luxuria, but apparently, it can turn into a sword, and a sports car. Seeing how Acedia got to be a limo and a chair, I think there's not much of a limit on what it can be. The son of Hephaestus, Leo? He wanted the blueprints for it. I don't know if Lust gave them to him, but I thought that you would have been able to find out what made those things tick."

He continued to rant in the non-angry way he had, explaining everything simply and closely. Annabeth loved her siblings and all, but sometimes, the son of Poseidon was the best break ever.

Her eyes drooped while he moved onto the weird clocktower that had definitely not been in the Lotus Hotel and Casino when they'd been temporarily trapped in the timeless prison, and she soon fell asleep.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Percy stopped talking when the occasional grunts or hums stopped coming in at the appropriate times. "Annabeth?"

The blond girl remained quiet, eyes still shut. Her breathing was a bit deeper, and slower. She had fallen asleep. He'd never admit it, but Percy thought that was rather cute. Shifting his shoulders and arms so that he wouldn't carelessly wake her, Percy picked her up in his arms, and slowly rose, trying to be gentle.

Annabeth twitched, and he froze. She just shifted, and turned her face a bit more into his direction. Trying to breath quietly – or not at all – he made his way to the Athena Cabin, glaring when the Aphrodite kids whistled rather loudly at the sight of him. Luckily, she didn't wake up and demand that he put her down so she could walk properly on her own.

The Cabin entrance might have been a problem on its own, as Athena still didn't like him as much as he'd have appreciated. Malcolm solved that problem for him by silently opening the door. Percy mouthed his thanks, and deposited the sleeping counselor on her bunk, ignoring the stares of Athena's brain children. He still didn't know quite how it worked exactly, and he still didn't want the exact details of that.

"Good night," he whispered.

"Leave," Malcolm ordered flatly, not bothering to keep his voice down. He seemed rather tired.

Percy followed that order, still smiling goofily.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

The best thing to do after such an… _odd_ day would have been to get some sleep.

Yeah, right.

Finally, Rachel thought as she threw herself on her bed, a towel wrapped around her wet hair and the royal blue book within her hands. She could read this thing and get it over with. It was, of course, rather convenient that this guide on the deadly sins had been just in the church where Lust had told them to get the net. Almost too convenient, but her inner sense was telling her that this was right, a good idea. Perhaps Lust had wanted her to find it, something to help his sister and the rather awkward situation they were in. Rachel still squirmed when she thought of the purple-eyed man, but there had definitely been something there. His gaze to her had always been kind, and familiar, like he was looking at a cousin or a friend. The way he had looked at the other girls before he and Sloth had fought, that had been _really_ different. His eyes had been lightly sparkling, but there was definitely his namesake in them when he had been gazing on the others.

Was it a good thing he didn't look at her like that? The good part would have been that she wouldn't have been in danger of losing her position as Oracle from him. The bad part, rather obviously, was that he still was a very attractive man. So attractive that it almost hurt for her to have to admit that Lust wasn't interested in her that way, and this wasn't going to be one of those romantic, kinda-Stockholm Syndrome stories she liked to read.

Hey, she was an eternal virgin; she had to get the romance in her life from _somewhere_!

Deciding that she wasn't going to go down that path – not tonight, anyways – she opened the book. On the front page, that one blank page where there seemed to be no point but to write something for the person you were giving the book to, an elegant script flowed across the top part. _In hopes that humanity breaks its addictions to all things sinful._

Well, wasn't that a cheerful outlook on humanity. She flipped the words of the former owner or writer over, and read the table of contents.

_Intro – Page One_

_The Sins – Page Two_

_Pride – Page Five_

_Greed – Page Ten_

_Wrath – Page Fifteen_

_Envy – Page Twenty_

_Lust – Page Twenty-Five_

_Sloth – Page Thirty_

_Gluttony – Page Thirty-Five_

_History and how Sins affected the Mortal World – Page Forty_

_The Virtues – Page Seventy_

_Maps – Page Hundred and Thirty-Six_

Not that much, but not that little. Or, at least to demigod standards, and living with so much of them, she swore her reading abilities were beginning to be affected. Rachel began to outline her strategy of conquering this book. Start at the beginning, and then skip to the more interesting, important bits. Rachel smiled to herself, realizing that she was beginning to think rather like a certain grey-eyed daughter of Athena who had tackled Percy in a hug when she had seen him. Rachel turned the page, and began to read in the lamp light, squinting at the tiny print that hadn't been used in probably a hundred years or so. It would have been easier if she had a magnifying glass.

_Humanity has many deities known in its short-yet-long history. The Greek gods, the Egyptian, the Roman, the Norse…_

_Yet, there has always been the main repeating, reoccurring pattern within all of them, that being the fight between good versus bad. And in the very basics of humanity, within the souls, or consciousness, or whatever it is that makes humans so distinguished from others, that fight continues to this day. Or perhaps it would be better to say that the fight continues both in and out of mortal consciousness and morality. _

_Called the Deadly Sins, or the Cardinal Vices, Cardinal Sins, Deadly Vices, or just Sins, seven vices – Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, and Gluttony – have managed to attain personified forms, a god like many of the deities in all but name. In a way, the gods have received power from the seven, though most had no knowledge of this. If they did, in fact, know where these rather generous gifts were coming from, they kept it a secret, in either shame or pride at acceptance of such a thing._

_In some ways, the Sins are much weaker than gods. None had worshipped them, made no sacrifices to them for favors or blessings, spoke of them as personified essence of divine power. Yet in other ways and aspects, they were so much stronger. Ingrained into the very beings of humanity, they have found an anchor far more secure than any the gods have, and from the masses of mortal ingenuity and uniqueness exclusive to only one human in the entire history of the world, they have gathered quite an impressive force, able to challenge the heavens themselves and have a good chance of winning. In fact, it is probable that the Sins would have won, would have done so had it not been for their counterparts, the Virtues._

That was the end of the intro, and was rather disappointing in her personal opinions. Rachel flipped back to the table of contents, and then turned the pages until she was at the page with Sloth's profile. A colour portrait of a woman in an imperial court somewhere in European countries from way back then when women had no rights except to dress fancy and dinosaurs were almost hunted to extinction was the first page of the deep-in on Sloth. As a serious artist, she could tell that whoever had drawn this portrait of the raven-haired, milk-skinned woman had serious skills. Every last detail was captured perfectly, and could have been easily mistaken for a photograph had she not known better. Yet the woman herself was staring back out with half-lidded aquamarine eyes, a blank face that radiated royalty and beauty half-turning away, half-looking onto the artist and viewer. Her face was different from what Rachel had seen, but there was no mistaking the teal eyes. On her lap, next to the velvet chair she sat on, and even under her arms, there were books, bound in leather and gold and jewels. Above one such pile of richness sat a cat, her eyes the same shade of teal as her mistress'. So Acedia had been there, too. The caption under the portrait only enforced her guesses. _Sloth and Acedia, in the Palace of Versailles before the French Revolution_. Lovely.

_Sloth_, her description began. _The Sin that has been rumoured to have started many plagues, although whether they were actually by her power or by the hand of one of her subordinates, Disease, is still unclear. Ever since the rebirth of the Sins, she has been tasked with both the occupation of punishing humanity with deficit, and punishing the souls of those that had committed her sin. Wind has been known to be her power, and her most well-known weapon, Acedia, has favored the form of a black cat, though a sword is not rare. Her demonic form has been named Belphegor, though the last time this state has been achieved had been when the _pithos_ was opened by the mortal Pandora, and her power unwittingly unleashed on the world._

Rachel frowned. 'Unwittingly unleashed?' In her dream, it had been Sloth's voice and friendly words that had ended up pushing Pandora over her limit, making her open the jar she was so famous for. The 'her' could have been referring to Pandora instead of Sloth, meaning that Pandora hadn't meant to unleash them on the world, which would have made sense, but she knew that wasn't what the author had meant.

She tried to continue reading, but ended up giving up when the rest of the words were just droning on and on about what she could do – pretty much everything sleep-, technology-, dream- and giving up-related – and what she couldn't do – a lot more than Rachel had guessed. Apparently, healing wasn't a strong point for her, as were many other things.

Unexpectedly, a huge yawn split her mouth, and before she was finished with the first one, a second yawn hit her. The alarm clock told her that it was only ten P.M. She'd been up much deeper into the night! This was nothing!

But the lull of sleep was too strong to resist. Rachel just managed to close the blue book and lay it aside before she turned off the lamp and let the darkness overwhelm everything. Her tiredness increased, she closed her eyes and let her consciousness fade away, giving way to slumber.

* * *

A/N-I forgot to mention... the inspiration for Pandora being the 'mother' of Sins comes, as usual, from Mothy. Moonlit Bear, Eve Moonlit, technically the mother of the Original Sin that split into Seven. Well, I figured Pandora was the same, both having released them into the world and tainting it forever.


	32. All's well that ends well, right?

It occurred to Rachel while she was eating breakfast, that the smart thing to do would be to hand over the guide on the Seven Deadly Sins to Chiron. She was rather reluctant, though, to part with the book all too immediately.

So she decided to ask what to do about it with the number one rulebreaker that had been with her on the quest; Percy Jackson. If he said she could keep it, why, then, it was no one's fault!

"Hey, Percy," she said casually as he picked up his food. "Should I give Chiron the guide, or should I, you know, read it through first?"

Percy paused in his prayers. "What guide?"

Rachel blinked. "The guide I found in the church? On the Sins? You know, when we were getting the net and ended up nearly eaten by the snake?"

The son of Poseidon frowned. "I don't remember a guide being there."

"The book, Percy, the book!" she hissed, trying to not draw attention to herself. It wasn't working. The nearest campers were eyeing her with a bit of fear, probably wondering if she was about to give a prophecy right there and then.

"What book?" Percy's face was bewildered; he really didn't know.

Rachel gave up. "Just come to my cave later, I'll show you."

"Okay," he said, rather uncertain, and tossed in a strawberry, muttering his father's name.

_Demigods_.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Percy would have sworn on his father's throne, Olympus, and the River Styx that he did not remember seeing the book until Rachel showed him the blue covered volume. "Oh, now, I remember!"

Rachel raised her eyebrows. "Do you now?"

He ignored the sarcasm. "It's weird," he muttered. "I couldn't even remember it until you showed it to me. Like it was a locked away memory or something."

"So should I give this to Chiron?" Rachel's eyes, bright and green, were even more intense than usual, which was saying something for the sharp-tongued Oracle.

"Sure, I guess," he shrugged. "Probably, the demigods could use it."

Rachel muttered in dissatisfaction as she pushed her way out. It sounded a lot like "you're all dyslexic, anyways."

He must have said the wrong thing again. Great.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"So these Sins, they have declared war, and we are to stand behind the gods?"

The meeting, to Jason's ears, was loud and currently very annoying. Right now, he really wanted to sleep, but as praetor, he wasn't allowed. Shame.

"Yes," he replied wearily. Just how many times did Octavian plan on asking him?!

The legacy smiled coyly. "Ah, is that so? And what an explanation! So perfect, just after the attacks on Camp! Need I remind all that stand here about how the attacks by the giant winged man-"

"Fear," Jason interrupted. He had given the name of their assaulter on the first time this story had been told. Octavian refused to use it each time, which was just a petty vengeance for some ancient grudge or another. "His name was Fear."

"Stopped the moment he took Praetor Grace?" Octavian continued, and Jason bit his lips. By interrupting, he had seemed like a brash and rude child for doing so. Big mistake, and an impulsive one, too. Not Roman at all. "What if the attacks start again? There is no guarantee that we will be able to stand a few more rounds."

The message was hidden, but it was clearer than daylight. Throw Jason to Fear if he came again.

Reyna rose. "We will stand," she said firmly. "We are Romans, are we not? To take the way of dishonest, honourless cowards is not the way of proud, self-respecting Romans."

Octavian was too good of a speaker to fall into that trap. "But of course, Praetor," he inclined his head, seemingly give in. "I only speak for the benefit of all."

Jason imagined Octavian being run over by a car. It certainly was a nice image.

He had to bite his tongue when Octavian started the same speech again. "And the gods would have us fight in this war?"

Here we go again, he thought.

Perhaps being thrown as bribery to stop attacks on camp wouldn't be that bad.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

"Technically, since the gods sent you here themselves," sighed the girl who had introduced herself as 'just call me Gwen'. "You should have really been put in Second Cohort, at the least, because that's the highest honour you could really get. But because of the lack of the physical reference letter, guess you're stuck with the Fifth," she spread her arms. "So welcome to your new home!"

Gwen wasn't exactly as comforting as Silver/Bianca, but Hazel thought that she was rather friendly, and authentically so, not a plastic doll with stiff fake smiles like the scrawny blond guy had been towards her after learning her father's name.

The guy behind her took a long drink from his water bottle. From the way his mouth was stained, Hazel would have said that whatever he was drinking had to be either juice, or wine, but he didn't smell like either. Just a really fake, but sweet scent.

"Not that the Fifth is too bad, because of Jason," Gwen continued. "We're no longer picked on as much by the others. Gives us an advantage that we have the son of Jupiter. He doesn't show favoritism, of course, but still, they respect him, and by default, us."

The drinking teen behind her grumbled. Gwen gave an apologetic smile. "That's Dakota. He's a son of Bacchus. By the way, whose daughter are you? I never caught your parent's name."

Hazel blinked, remembering the pale man who had tried to convince her mother to flee. The other gods had called him a name… "Pluto," she murmured. They had also called him Hades, but that didn't feel right.

Dakota actually put down his flask and looked at her with bloodshot eyes. Gwen gave a small start, but that was all. "Well, then," she said. "Welcome, Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto, to the Fifth Cohort!"

**~\-Sloth-/~**

This was boring.

Leo stretched out, trying to not fall asleep as he listened to the centaur talk. From the looks of it, no one else really wanted to be here either.

Not that the horse-dude wasn't trying to make this as interesting and actually understandable. He really was, but the air was warmer than usual, and the grass green, the scent of autumn sleepy on everyone.

Of course, the other campers just had to tell him that before the war was declared and everything, they had classes where they learnt to fight with swords, climb walls with pouring magma, make wicked weapons and keep them, and even how to ride a flying horse. All the cool stuff, which was now mostly replaced with an outdoors classroom teaching History, of all things. No textbooks, thank the gods, but it was still bad. And bad was generally bad.

Next to him, his younger brother – who probably could have snapped him in half, being so much more ripped and tough-looking than Leo was – yawned, and handed Leo a few copper wires without even looking. "Thanks, dude," he whispered, taking the pieces of drawn out metal that would be his salvation from the boredom of learning dead stuff.

The centaur-dude – Chiron – shot him a look, but didn't pick him out like all his other teachers. He just continued, occasionally calling up some kids to demonstrate and role-play a few stuff.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

As far as Piper understood this, the schedule went like this; wake up, eat, go learn how to kill stuff, sit through History with a magical twist, eat, and go to sleep.

Interesting how her life changed so drastically, but she wasn't in a birdcage anymore, so she wasn't complaining.

The odd thing was, Jason, her fellow prison-mate, had told her all about the Roman gods, and how they were the only ones left after the Greek aspects faded away. From the looks of the entire camp, they hadn't faded away at all.

She had casually mentioned something about the Romans to the director, who had happened to be the legendary centaur Chiron, after apologizing for mistaking him as dead because of that one story where legends claimed him losing his immortality because of an accidental shot from Hercules and his poisoned arrows. He had taken the apology gracefully, explaining that the public story was a bit more twisted after so much time passing, and then told her that the Roman aspects of the gods were not in Greek myths, and therefore had no part in Camp Half-Blood in kind but guarded, careful words.

Very suspicious. What if both sides of the gods existed? From what Jason had told her, he had claimed that the camp was somewhere near the Bay Area. He hadn't told her the direct location, but it had to be somewhere around there.

But what to do with this information? Chiron obviously didn't want it out in the public, and it wasn't like she could really do anything with it.

In the end, she decided to keep quiet and see what happened. Or, she'd keep that a secret, and try to not snap out at the annoying counselor she had as a half-sister.

Children of the Love Goddess, her foot. This was a dictatorship! Cruel, selfish, and beneficial to only the Queen and her followers.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Nico point-blank refused to leave his sister. Chiron didn't say anything to that, probably going easy on her, but he did lead her into the Big House to 'explain' something. Nico had been, rather politely, kicked out, and watched over by three other campers to make sure that he didn't eavesdrop.

After their 'talk', Bianca seemed brighter, though she was definitely hiding something from him. When he asked her about it, she only shook her head. "I swore on the River Styx," was all she told him. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you."

Oh, yeah, tell that to a demigod, let's see if they don't break the rules and somebody's bones trying to find out what it was.

Unfortunately, by the time he'd gotten past his watchers – none of which had broken bones, but would probably have phobias of the dark, dead, and shadows for a long time – they were finished talking.

"Still thinking?" Bianca rubbed his head, having to reach above to do so. He was now slightly taller than her, and in physical appearance, they were of the same age. Or, he was older. Yeah, actually, he was older, being thirteen while she was still twelve. Still, she treated him like her little brother just like she used to, and for the moment, it was the best feeling in the world.

They'd probably run into conflict about that soon, though. Nico thought that he had better start counting the peaceful days left in him, and try to extend the date as much as he could.

"Yeah," he grinned at her. "Like how short you are now."

She slapped him lightly on his shoulder. "You had three years of life on me."

"Excuses," he tutted, for a moment feeling odd, as if he was channeling some kind of scene from a movie. Where had this feeling of sibling bonding come from before?

Nico's memories slapped him mentally. Oh, right. Sloth and Lust. Before she slit his throat and everything.

Bianca studied his face, dark eyes catching every detail. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he waved it off. "I bet I could beat you in training!"

Bianca scoffed, but both siblings began to make their way to the arena they were supposed to be at five minutes ago. "Spoken like a true boy."

"I thought you quit the Huntress thing!" he protested, and Bianca threw her head back to laugh.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Annabeth held her breath as Rachel squirmed in the three-legged stool at the empty amphitheatre. "Ready?" she asked the redhead.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare nodded, grinning. "Ready!" she confirmed.

She took a deep breath. "Where can I find the Virtues?" she asked, speaking to both her friend and the Spirit of Delphi she hosted.

Rachel slumped forward, not quite falling off, and straightened, her eyes the tell-tale glow of the Oracle in Action, her voice tripling and changing into the hiss of a talking snake.

Prophecy time.

* * *

And that's pretty much it. The next few chapters will mostly be on the Sins, and then it's off to 'Battle with Wrath', or whatever I choose to be the title.


	33. BONUS I: Lost Books

_With the endurance of a wolf._

Sloth frowned, and flicked her fingers, sending the teal winds that were her memories flying and organizing themselves into her 'library'. In reality, that was the state of her mind, and she was cleaning it out, making sure everything was in place. The winds sunk into each 'book', the process continuing until all the winds were in the right places.

Or rather, all the winds that were out were in the right places.

Sloth rubbed her temples, a human habit she had picked up sometime between the Civil War when she had been winning game after game with Diligence at the battlefields. In the end, she had lost the one that really mattered, but it had been a fun battle nonetheless, and picked up some new traits. Her headache's source came from the gaps in the shelves between the books that represented her memories. And gaps there were, some missing only one volume, while others had the entire shelf out somewhere. There was no other explanation, yet what she was thinking was impossible.

Her memories were gone.

_With the endurance of a wolf._

And what had Lust meant by those words? He had whispered them into her ear before telling her to kill him. Or, mercifully release him from pain, as he would have worded them.

No, it was still killing. After that amount of draining, it could take some time to rebuild a vessel.

Scowling, she flicked her wrists and made all the books burst out of the shelves again to become winds. Perhaps another round of reorganization could clear things up, although she doubted it.

_With the endurance of a wolf._

Growling, she shoved the air with hands. Normally, she wouldn't be like Wrath in a fiery mood, losing temper at the smallest thing, but this was her memory, and they didn't even make sense, how they were missing. Bits and random parts, not connected to each other by much… There was just no logic in it.

She gave up on bookkeeping. It just wasn't worth the effort, and she'd done it twice. More than enough.

The winds still and put away, the words of Lust echoing in her consciousness, and the silence of all soaking in, she let her essence bounce around the walls of the pithos and return to her, before sending them out again. Would the gods ever learn that the insides of the _pithos_ was actually rather beneficial to Sins?

Most likely not. Sloth sighed, letting her strengths echo and multiply to make up for the reserves depleted when she was fighting Lust. He really had been going easy on her the entire time. When she went back-

She'd never be able to go back.

Sloth was rarely scared, but now, with her memories missing, her siblings against her, and trapped under the eye of the gods she'd been evading for so long, she thought she felt the emotion stir within her. Did she even stand a chance?

No, not really.

So she solved the problem by doing what she did best; sleep and procrastinate.


	34. BONUS II: The Important Messenger

In the now-silent city, the messenger handed the letter silently to the wind god sent for their replies, hiding a cheeky smile. Foolish, foolish gods.

The god dispersed, and Pride sprung into action. She disposed of the pitiful appearance she had taken and replaced it with her usual gorgeous face, and through the earth beneath the asphalt and concrete and everything else, pulled up their little 'gift', the coffin she had spared no expenses in adorning with gemstones of the finest kind, jewels that could make even Hades jealous. She spared a moment to run a hand across the coffin sealing one of their enemies, smiling radiantly. Such a perfect plan! Of course, Sloth wasn't exactly on their side, but there had to be prices paid, and bad deeds were to be punished. Perhaps their sister would snap back to attention soon, if Lust would do his duty properly, for once.

Pride stepped back, and cloaked herself, just as the wind god came back, looking for her. His face was comical, dropping in shock as he searched for her, each time the eyes landing on the casket waiting right in front of him. In the end, he sighed in resignation, and took it. From him she sensed wounded pride, and clucked in sympathy, though he couldn't hear her. Fallen dignity was truly a terrible thing.

That said and done, she picked up a small pebble and absentmindedly tossed it up and down. She could, she knew, change the stone through her Words and make it into the biggest diamond the world had ever seen, far bigger than her last gift, the Hope Diamond…

But she didn't want to. Pride scowled. The balance was all out of whack, using words Gluttony liked to use, because of Sloth deserting them. Without her constantly removing their fatigue and languor, the driving ambition and rage behind their every action was stalling and diminishing.

The lights above the tall building flashed in an angry blue, and thunder rumbled. Following that, the earth quaked, just a bit. She wouldn't have been able to sense it if it weren't for the connections she had with soil in general.

They must have opened up their gift.

Pride stepped back, and threw the pebble impossibly high. It was out of sight – the normal sight she chose – but Pride knew that it was flying high, speeding to the supposedly-nonexistent six hundredth floor where Olympus was.

The purpose of their second gift was more for espionage, rather than direct offence, hence the secrecy of it all. Of course, she wouldn't have minded if it hit old Airhead up there, but then they'd have ruined the fun.

The earth trembled, but in such a tiny scale that she almost missed it. Needless to say, the gods probably disregarded it as well. _Come home._

Pride spared one last glance to Olympus. The heavens…

_I will._

…would be bloodstained when the Sins extracted their revenge. Torn down, fiery, screams in the air…

She couldn't wait.


	35. BONUS III: Anger's Return

In the small castle made of stone somewhere in Europe, a fire was blazing furiously in the large fireplace that could have held a banquet table. The flames were extremely powerful, dancing with malevolent fire spirits, and hotter than a forge or furnace, yet not a single spark escaped out of the boundaries drawn.

Safe and very much behind the range of the blistering heat and blinding light, a few other servants of the lord of this castle stood, waiting for him to emerge. They were the odd ones, the ones without abilities of fire, yet they had chosen to serve him nonetheless. One of them, the one that dared to be as close as she could, held the appearance of a teenage girl, although to mortals with clear sight she would have been a mass of storms in human shape.

The fire roared abruptly, climbing even higher and changed color to a bright green, and out of the flames a man stepped out, not even blinking at the sudden change of environment. His clothes, an army coat over a white dress shirt and jeans, though they'd been through literarily the flames of Hell, were still in perfect condition. Everyone fell to their knees, not daring to look into the face of the tall man in fear of catching the wrong attention. Even without looking, they all knew his face. Ginger hair, cropped in a casual form of a military style, and pale skin, like all Sins. His face was set in a cold way of hatred and silent rage that could explode out at any moment like a volcano erupting, but it was a handsome face with sharp green eyes. One could have thought him an avenging warrior angel, and they wouldn't have been criticized in their mistake, for it was a common one.

Wrath, Lord of Fire and Ira, he whose demonic aspect was Satan, had arrived.

He barely acknowledged his servants, but they all recognized the signal to rise. The female storm spirit, still with her head bowed, stepped closer. "Milord."

He didn't look at her, only continued to walk. She followed anyways. Her master was like that. "Report."

"Sir! Marshals Disease and Fear has both returned, and are in good health, sir! They report ready for battle!"

The Sin nodded, still keeping pace. The storm spirit was almost at a run now, trying to keep pace. "Lady Envy has sent her reports from Brooklyn, and she states that all is well!"

Wrath abruptly stopped in front of a door to a particular chamber, and she winced. She'd been hoping he wouldn't have noticed. "And…Lord Lust has fully healed and recovered, sir."

His lip twitched, and he opened the door. There, on the large king-sized bed, lay a handsome man with shaggy black hair arranged in such a way that his playful purple eyes were shown off in the most attractive way possible. He wasn't wearing a shirt, but there were bandages wrapped around his abdomen, and next to him, a wolf watched everything with matching violent eyes.

Oh, and he was surrounded by dozens of dreamy eyed females.

He looked up from his bed and smiled. "Wrath," he greeted warmly, still lying on his bed. Disrespectful. "You're back from Russia! Or was it North Korea you were in?"

Wrath didn't smile. "Russia," he said, green eyes spitting fire, although his composure was perfect. "Why are you in my castle?"

Lust shrugged, lounging back and stroking the arms of the girl closest to him. She sighed, while others looked on in envy. "Can I help it if all the lovely ladies are here?" he asked. "You really must stop hogging them all. Beauties should be seen by all."

It wasn't so much as the words he said, but the way he said it, so matter-of-factly that everyone couldn't doubt his belief that all here were beautiful. The women swooned, and so did the storm spirit. Very few could resist his charms if Lust became charming.

Wrath was one of the few. "I hear you failed your mission."

That was a sore point. Lust stopped petting the girl, much to her distress, and looked at his brother in indignation. "I would hardly call that a failure-"

"It _is_ a failure," Wrath interrupted flatly, his deep voice rumbling. "And now, I must attempt to amend it."

Lust's violet eyes fell to Wrath's right arm, hidden under his army coat. "Patience must have hit you hard."

His fists clenched. "Leave us."

The women knew better than to argue. Within moments, they were out into the hallways, out of the room. "You too, Second Lieutenant Storme."

Reluctantly, the storm spirit left the room.

**~\-Sloth-/~**

Instead of breaking out into a fight like everyone expected, Lust straightened up, magicking a suit onto himself, while Wrath brought out the wine and the tables. "To our mother!" Lust toasted.

Wrath raised his glass, and drained it.

Lust poured himself another glass, and filled the one in Wrath's hand. "Greed thinks that Sloth will give in at your attack."

The ginger-haired man said nothing, only staring at the glass as if the alcohol within was intoxicating enough in its looks.

"She's betting with Pride on how Sloth won't last under your army."

Wrath drained the glass again. "She's stronger than that, and Greed knows it."

Lust shrugged. "Better than what Pride has been saying."

"Which would be?"

"Sloth giving in only under the attack of the Virtues."

A ginger eyebrow raised itself in silent question. Lust smiled bitterly. "I recited the key words, if that's what you're worried about."

"Seven," Wrath growled. "One out of seven isn't much."

"Better that than none out of seven, despite the one-letter difference," Lust countered. "You're just angry because of hurting your girlfriend."

Wrath had attacked his brothers for lesser insults, yet the weariness within him was pulling at him, telling him to rest and recover. He knew Lust had to be feeling the same. Sloth's leaving them was hitting them harder than they had guessed it would. "If this doesn't work, the efforts of many millennia will have been wasted."

"And if it does, all will be good."

For the third time, the glass Wrath was holding was filled, and for the third time, he drained it. "Well, then," he stood, tall and imposing. Lust thought Wrath looked like the stereotypical Russian secret spy; tall, pale, rather Russian-featured in a handsome way, harsh, and cold. All the Sins had a similarity to a certain nationality, if he really thought about it. "We'll have to make everything goes to plan then."

* * *

And that's the last chapter. I guess I'll get the next Volume up when I manage to read the Mark Of Athena... Or not, depending on what I feel like.


End file.
